Princeton Following ‘Fair, Equitable’ System To COVID Vaccination

Sarah Salvadore
Updated ·7 min read

PRINCETON, NJ – With COVID vaccine rollout slowing down across the state, the Princeton Health Department (PHD) too has been impacted by the shortage. But PHD said they were committed to fair distribution of the vaccine.

At Tuesday's town council meeting, health officer Jeff Grosser took questions from council members on vaccine clinics and the shortage.

Grosser said the department was following a “fair and equitable system” to administering the vaccine.

He said people will be called in order that they signed up on the waitlist. This list will then be further refined to include people in the categories currently being vaccinated – like 1A or 1 B.

At the moment, Princeton has an upward of 20,000 people waitlisted to receive the vaccine, said Grosser.

“Princeton Health Department right now only has 300 available doses,” Grosser said. “Moving ahead, we can probably put through about 500 individuals once or twice a week, because of the scale of the operation.”

Grosser said PHD was trying to “schedule as many of those individuals as possible.”

With more vaccine sites opening across the county, Grosser said there was “lots of opportunities, just not a lot of vaccine.”

“Over the course of the next few weeks, we're going to see a little bit of the shortage compared to what we've seen in the last three weeks,” he said.

Despite the shortage, Grosser said PHD is doing "pretty well in terms of getting the health care workers and the first responders” vaccinated.

New Jersey is currently receiving 100,000 doses per week. Officials said they have expecting a supply of 400,000 doses per week to meet demands.

Earlier this week it was announced that Mercer County will be receiving 800 vaccines every week, beginning next week. How many of those vaccines will Princeton receive is not known.

“800 doses per week is obviously not a lot if you think about it across the whole county. So those doses are going to be allocated based upon probably population percentage breakdown for the county,” Grosser said.

The health officer also pointed out that residents who want to get vaccinated should pre-register at the local portal and state vaccine registration portal.

“When we speak to residents, we're telling people please register for the state system, as well as any other health care portal... because it increases your odds of hearing from someone at some point because the vaccine is in high demand right now,” he said.

Apart from the state and PHD portal, local hospitals too have started registering people for the COVID-19 vaccine. Penn Medicine Princeton Health recently opened their online portal, but has now closed it as appointments exceed available vaccines.

Meanwhile, PHD has been receiving hundreds of emails and phone calls inquiring about the vaccine. And with just six people in the department, answering each of them is taking time, said Grosser.

“We receive 300 to 400 emails and 300 calls every day. Please have patience with us, we’ll try to get back to you quickly,” Grosser said.

He told councilmembers the health department could use additional support to help them answer calls and emails.

Register at the state and local portal to increase your chances of receiving the vaccine.

Here is the Princeton registration portal: Microsoft Forms

Here's the link to the state-run registration portal: https://covidvaccine.nj.gov/

Vaccine eligibility:

Healthcare Personnel (Phase 1A)

Paid and unpaid persons serving in health care settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials, including, but not limited to:

  • Licensed healthcare professionals like doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and dentists

  • Staff like receptionists, janitors, mortuary services, laboratory technicians

  • Consultants, per diem, and contractors who are not directly employed by the facility

  • Unpaid workers like health professional students, trainees, volunteers, and essential caregivers

  • Community health workers, doulas, and public health professionals like Medical Reserve Corps

  • Personnel with variable venues like EMS, paramedics, funeral staff, and autopsy workers

  • All workers in acute, pediatric, and behavioral health hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers

  • All workers in health facilities like psychiatric facilities, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and rehabs

  • All workers in clinic-based settings like urgent care clinics, dialysis centers, and family planning sites

  • All workers in long-term care settings like nursing homes, assisted living facilities, group homes, and others

  • All workers in occupational-based healthcare settings like health clinics within workplaces, shelters, jails, colleges and universities, and K-12 schools

  • All workers in community-based healthcare settings like PACE and Adult Living Community Nursing

  • All workers in home-based settings like hospice, home care, and visiting nurse services

  • All workers in office-based healthcare settings like physician and dental offices

  • All workers in public health settings like local health departments, LINCS agencies, harm reduction centers, and medicinal marijuana programs

  • All workers in retail, independent, and institutional pharmacies

  • Other paid or unpaid people who work in a healthcare setting, who may have direct or indirect contact with infectious persons or materials, and who cannot work from home.

Long-Term Care Residents and Staff (Phase 1A)

All residents and staff of long-term and congregate care facilities, including:

  • Skilled nursing facilities

  • Veterans homes

  • Group homes like residential care homes, adult family homes, adult foster homes, and intellectual and developmental disabilities group homes

  • HUD 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program residences

  • Institutional settings like psychiatric hospitals, correctional institutions, county jails, and juvenile detention facilities (for eligible minors, e.g. 16+ years of age may be eligible for Pfizer vaccine under the emergency use authorization)

  • Other vulnerable, congregate, long-term settings

First Responders (Phase 1B)

Sworn law enforcement, firefighters, and other first responders, including:

  • New Jersey State Police troopers

  • Municipal and county police officers

  • Campus police officers

  • Detectives in prosecutors' offices and state agencies

  • State agency/authority law enforcement officers (such as State Park Police and Conservation officers, Palisades Interstate Parkway officers, Human Services police, and NJ Transit police)

  • Investigator, parole and secured facilities officers

  • Aeronautical operations specialists

  • Sworn federal law enforcement officers and special agents

  • Bi-state law enforcement officers (such as the Port Authority)

  • Court Security Officers

  • Paid and unpaid members of firefighting services (structural and wildland)

  • Paid and unpaid members of search and rescue units including technical rescue units and HAZMAT teams

  • Paid and unpaid firefighters who provide emergency medical services

  • Paid and unpaid members of Industrial units that perform fire, rescue and HAZMAT services

  • Members of State Fire Marshal's Offices

  • Bi-state fire service personnel (such as the Port Authority)

Individuals at High Risk (Phase 1B)

Individuals aged 65 and older, and individuals ages 16-64 with medical conditions, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that increase the risk of severe illness from the virus. These conditions include:

  • Cancer

  • Chronic kidney disease

  • COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)

  • Down Syndrome

  • Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies

  • Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2)

  • Severe Obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2)

  • Sickle cell disease

  • Smoking

  • Type 2 diabetes mellitus

Individuals who are pregnant and those in an immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant are also eligible but should follow CDC guidance and first discuss vaccination with their medical provider before receiving the vaccine.

If you are currently eligible, click here for more information on where to get vaccinated.

Who is eligible for vaccination next?

  • Additional frontline essential workers (Phase 1B)

  • Other essential workers and people living in congregate settings (Phase 1C)

  • General population (Phase 2)

This group was designated as 1B, and will likely be next:

  • Foodservice workers

  • Port Authority workers

  • New Jersey Transit workers

  • Teachers, staff, and childcare workers

  • Workers who support radio, print, internet and television news and media services

  • Other critical workers (CISA)

  • Other essential workers

This group was originally designated as 1C:

  • People living or working in congregate or overcrowded settings – such as colleges and universities

  • People living or working in congregate or overcrowded settings – such as migrant workers

  • People living or working in congregate or overcrowded settings - other tribal populations

  • Other people at high risk of COVID-19 illness due to comorbidities, occupations, demographics, etc.

NOTE: Vaccination phases are tentative and subject to change.

This article originally appeared on the Princeton Patch