Summit Medical Group Says: Stop Calling About COVID-19 Vaccine
SUMMIT, NJ — Now that the state of New Jersey has expanded the groups eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, one area medical group has had to ask people to put off calling for the shots.
"Eligibility changes have caused a spike in vaccine demand," says a pop-up message on the website of Summit Medical Group, which has 80 locations in New Jersey and New York. "At this time, we cannot accept additional vaccination appointment requests. Please do not call seeking an appointment. We are working hard to expand our ability to vaccinate our patients and we will be in contact with you as soon as we have more information available."
Two weeks ago, SMG began vaccinating its own health care workers, as well as its patients who work in health care. The state also said that the staff and residents of New Jersey's nursing homes were eligible to get the shot.
But once the state expanded eligibility last week to people over 65 and those 16-65 with certain medical conditions, local vaccination centers and medical providers didn't have enough supply to meet demand.
Summit Medical Group noted on its website, "At this time, we are not able to accommodate additional vaccine appointment requests. If you have already scheduled the vaccine through us, your appointments will be honored. You should have received an email confirmation and portal notification with your scheduled dates and times.
"We are working hard to secure more vaccine doses and expect that supplies will increase in the weeks and months ahead. Please check back frequently for updates.
"Please note: There are other vaccination location options people can consider, including state and local vaccine sites and retail pharmacies listed on the New Jersey COVID-19 Information Hub."
NJ.com reported that a patient got an email from SMG saying that all of the calls were preventing patients from getting through for well and sick visits.
On Friday, Gov. Phil Murphy said that the state was waiting for more vaccines from the federal government, and addressed why smokers were being prioritized for eligibility before teachers.
You can check here for a list of Union County vaccination sites open to the public.
Death toll to exceed 400,000; memorial planned
By Tuesday, the American death toll due to coronavirus was expected to surpass 400,000 lives.
According to Patch numbers, 27 percent more New Jersey residents died in 2020 than in 2019 or 2018, and deaths rose by 44.5 percent in Union County from 2019 to 2020. Click to see the story here.
On Tuesday, the Biden Inaugural Committee is hosting a nationwide COVIDMemorial observance in honor of those who passed away due to the virus in the last year. Among local towns participating is Westfield, which will host a livestream.
OTHER VIRUS TRENDS
As of this past Thursday, 13,458 residents of Union County had been vaccinated.
Use this link to see the updated fatality count in the United States.
More than 900 health care workers have died of the virus nationally.
Others are simultaneously fighting misinformation and hoaxes as they try to fight the virus.
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. Read about one Summit nursing home vaccinating residents and staff here.
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
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This article originally appeared on the Summit Patch
