Hoboken Begins Pre-Registering Seniors For COVID-19 Vaccine

Caren Lissner
Updated ·5 min read

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said Monday night that Hoboken senior citizens can pre-register to get the coronavirus vaccine for when the state makes it available to them. Right now, only health workers, certain essential workers, and nursing home residents are eligible to get the vaccine as part of Phase 1A.

Hoboken seniors 65 and up can register at http://www.hobokennj.gov/senio....

Seniors will become eligible to receive the vaccine once the state of New Jersey moves into the next 1B and 1C phases of vaccinations.

Mayor Ravi Bhalla said Monday that it has not been determined by the State if the 1B phase will include seniors ages 65 and up or only 75 and up. As of Monday, the state website listed seniors 75 and up in Phase 1B and 65 and up in 1C.

Bhalla said in a release on Monday, "The registration process will allow the city of Hoboken and medical partners, including Riverside Medical Group and Hoboken University Medical Center, to begin scheduling vaccine appointments to seniors without a substantial delay."

New York State residents 75 and up have already been allowed to register this week in their state (read more here).

Taking its toll in Hoboken

Four Hoboken residents over age 80 were confirmed to have died of coronavirus last week, bringing total fatalities in town to 39.

The city opened a vaccination center at the Riverside Medical Group office on Hudson Street late last month. Over the past weekend, Hoboken firefighters and police were vaccinated there. (Read more here.)

Bhalla said that beginning this Wednesday, seniors ages 75 and up will be able to call the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) hotline at 201-420-5621 (9-2 weekdays) to pre-register if internet access is unavailable. Seniors can also leave a voicemail with CERT at that phone number starting Wednesday by providing first name, last name, age, address and phone number to pre-register.

To find out more or to learn where in Hoboken to get tested for the virus, click here.

Vaccination goals and phases

The state's goal is to vaccinate 70 percent of the adult population – or 4.7 million adults – within six months.

If you are a healthcare worker or other person falling into the 1A category, you can visit http://www.hobokennj.gov/vaccine1A to register to receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from Riverside.

Once registered, staff from Riverside Medical Group staff will call to schedule an appointment. You can also go to the countywide site, HCvax@hudsonregionalhealth.org.

To find out about each phase, click this state information sheet.

Gov. Phil Murphy reportedly said Tuesday that he'd like to start vaccinating the general public by Memorial Day.

State and national trends

New Jersey had its highest new case total ever from last Wednesday to Thursday, and a daily death toll of 123 people. More than 17,000 across the state have passed away from the virus.

This was the first time New Jersey topped 100 fatalities for three days in a row, since May. Gov. Phil Murphy said 3,488 people are hospitalized with the virus statewide, 668 on ICU, 469 on ventilators.

He also said 459 coronavirus patients were admitted to hospitals and 449 discharged.

As of Monday, more than 375,000 Americans had died of the virus. (You can see which states had the highest death toll in the past week on this CDC map.)

NATIONAL TRENDS

HOW TO GET HELP WITH HEAT, RENT, AND MORE

  • During the State of Emergency in New Jersey, no tenant is permitted to be evicted from their home or apartment for the inability to pay rent. Talk to your local mayor's office if you are experiencing difficulties.

  • The CARES act has made money available to help with rent in each city. More information is here.

  • New Jersey residents can get help with heating and energy bills. Information is here.

  • Various other avenues of relief and benefits have also been made available, including family leave for 12 weeks if you can't work due to your child's school or camp being closed, and changes to unemployment rules to help those who were at a job for a short time, or freelancing.

LONG-TERM CARE

  • Recently, there were 159 long term care facilities with active outbreaks, the state Department of Health said last month. The state announced that deaths at the facilities had more than doubled since May 1.

  • New Jersey residents became alarmed at the high number of residents who have passed away in nursing homes, rehabs, and similar facilities. The state announced plans in May to increase testing at some long term care facilities.

  • The state released death toll statistics in spring for long-term care facilities like rehabs and nursing homes. See the list here.

  • You can report problems with long term care facilities here, or if you suspect coronavirus related misconduct, here.

  • Some New Jersey long-term care facilities reopened for limited visits, with precautions, in July.

  • Facilities began receiving the coronavirus vaccine in December and January, starting with a long-term care home in Old Bridge in December.

Here are statewide coronavirus resources:

  • NJ COVID-19 Information Hub: https://covid19.nj.gov/

  • General COVID-19 questions: 2-1-1

  • NJ COVID-19 hotline: (800) 222-1222

Got news? Email caren.lissner@patch.com. Got photos? Please include express written permission from the photographer for us to use them. To be the first to get free news alerts with breaking stories in Westfield, or to get a free local newsletter each morning, sign up for Patch breaking news alerts or daily newsletters.

This article originally appeared on the Hoboken Patch