'Thousands Of Appointments' Made At Gloucester Twp. Vaccine Site

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Camden County residents eager to get the coronavirus vaccine are taking advantage of the opening of the county’s new vaccine site in Gloucester Township.

“We have seen incredible interest in the county vaccine site in Blackwood with tens of thousands of appointments made just one week after launch,” Camden County Commissioner Al Dyer said. “We are continuing to work as diligently as possible to ensure that the public understands how this rollout is taking place, as well as when and where they can expect to receive their vaccinations. After months spent worrying that much of the public would be skeptical of these vaccinations, we are incredibly enthused by the response so far.”

Dyer will be joined by Caryelle Lasher and Dr. Mark Condoluci of Jefferson Health NJ to update the public on the county’s coronavirus pandemic response and vaccine rollout at 2 p.m. Thursday. The address will be streamed live on Camden County’s Facebook page and at camdencounty.com/live.

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The address will come one day after 218 new cases and 11 new deaths were announced in Camden County. As of Wednesday, there have been 34,188 cases of the coronavirus and 865 virus-related deaths in the county since the pandemic began.

“Nearly 10 months since the first Camden County resident was lost to this disease, it has become no easier to make these announcements each day,” Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said. “Today we are mourning the loss of 11 members of our community. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families. Every day that we spend fighting this pandemic yields new lessons to help us better our approach. Most importantly, we have learned that a handful of simple precautions can greatly increase our ability to protect ourselves and others: wearing a mask, keeping our distance, and minimizing gatherings indoors. Although vaccines are being distributed, we must continue to use this knowledge for a few months longer to prevent unnecessary harm to our loved ones and neighbors.”

The following information is available regarding the most recent deaths in Camden County:

• A Bellmawr Borough man in his 80s;

• A Lawnside man in his 50s;

• A Haddonfield woman in her 90s;

• A Camden man in his 40s;

• A Haddon Heights woman in her 70s;

• A Bellmawr Borough man in his 80s;

• A Camden man in his 30s;

• A Cherry Hill man in his 60s;

• A Winslow man in his 70s;

• A Cherry Hill woman in her 90s; and

• A Gloucester Township man in his 70s.

The Camden County Department of Health also announced that 2,167 residents and 1,179 staff members at the county's 56 long-term care facilities have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began. Since then, 426 residents and four staff members have died.

During Thursday’s address, Condoluci will provide an update regarding vaccinations and coronavirus trends seen within his hospital system.

Condoluci is a practicing Infectious Diseases physician at Jefferson Health New Jersey. A graduate of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, he is board certified in both Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine. Dr. Condoluci is Assistant Medical Director at Jefferson New Jersey Infectious Diseases in Voorhees, as well as Assistant Program Director of the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine’s Infectious Diseases Fellowship.

The address will come one week after Camden County opened its coronavirus vaccination site in the Papiano Gym on the Blackwood campus of Camden County College. Read more here: Camden County Opens COVID Vaccine Site In Gloucester Township

There are eight coronavirus vaccine sites in Camden County. Read more here: Here’s Where Camden Co. Vaccine Sites Have Been Announced

Who is eligible for vaccination at this time?

Currently, vaccines are available to the following groups:

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. The movement between vaccination eligibility phases may be fluid. One phase may overlap with another. Not all individuals in each phase will be vaccinated before opening to additional groups, and not all groups within a specific phase will be made eligible to receive the vaccine at the same time.

An announcement regarding when additional frontline essential workers and individuals at high risk will be eligible for the vaccine under Phase 1B and Phase 1C will be forthcoming, officials said.

This article originally appeared on the Gloucester Township Patch