Senior Living Facility In Summit Gets COVID-19 Vaccines

Caren Lissner
Updated ·5 min read

SUMMIT, NJ — The staff and residents of Sunrise Senior Living, which has long-term care facilities in Summit and Jackson, received the COVID-19 vaccine over the weekend.

Vaccines were administered to both residents and team members onsite by CVS Health, with encouragement from the facility. A spokesperson said, "The process went smoothly and as expected, and was surprisingly fun!"

Right now, as part of the state's Phase 1A, only health workers, nursing home residents and staffs, and staffs of mortuaries and laboratories are able to get vaccinated. Certain essential workers like police and firefighters were added starting last Thursday.

Phase 1B will include seniors 75 and up (for now) and more essential workers, and 1C will include those 65 and up and other groups. The state website explains the phases.

In New York state, people 75 and older have already started receiving the vaccine. The state of New Jersey will announce when it has gotten to the next phase.

Sunrise said Monday that they are making the vaccine clinic experience comfortable and relaxing for their seniors. Their recent survey of more than 8,000 Sunrise residents and families across the country revealed that 92 percent of respondents will probably or definitely receive the vaccine for themselves or their loved one.

At a facility in Jackson, they got pastries (above). There were also juice boxes at a facility with the words, "Orange you glad you got vaccinated?"

Around the state

The virus spread rapidly through some nursing homes in the state in spring, sparking a state attorney general investigation. Some facilities are experiencing a second wave that precedes the vaccine.

A nursing home in Old Bridge was the first to get the vaccine in December. More have followed.

National and local effort

The seniors at the Summit and Jackson Sunrise facilities got the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

The spokeswoman said, "It was heartwarming to see residents and team members happily roll up their sleeves, and you could feel them smiling behind their masks, knowing that they were taking a step toward protecting themselves and others. Vaccine clinics throughout the country are tentatively scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

"We wish to applaud the CDC and the state of New Jersey for prioritizing members of our communities. In recent weeks, Sunrise Senior Living has been in regular contact with federal, state and local government and health officials as well as CVS Health, to prepare for vaccination clinics at communities throughout the U.S."

She said the facility is still following infection protocols.

"We’re looking forward to the day that we can put this pandemic behind us," she said. "Until then, the COVID-19 vaccine is a key component of our evidenced-based infection control program, and we’ll continue practicing enhanced measures to stop the spread of the virus."

If you live in Union County and want to sign up for the vaccine, more information is 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.

Gov. Phil Murphy reportedly said last week 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 Tuesday, more than 377,000 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.

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 Summit, 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 Summit Patch