Lack Of Doses Delays Gloucester Twp. COVID Vaccine Site Opening

Anthony Bellano
Updated ·4 min read

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Despite a targeted opening date of Jan. 1, Camden County's planned coronavirus vaccine distribution site in Gloucester Township had yet to be opened Thursday due to a lack of doses, county officials said during a news conference Thursday.

Instead, the gymnasium at Camden County College's Blackwood campus where the site was supposed to open remains empty, and Camden County Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said the blame lies with the Trump Administration.

“At this point, we have not received any vaccines from the federal government,” Cappelli said. “We really can’t give any timeline on the rollout.”

That doesn’t mean Camden County residents have no access to the coronavirus vaccine. Vaccinations are currently available for anyone who qualifies in the 1A group at Cooper, Virtua, and Jefferson hospitals, as well as Rowan Medicine. ShopRite pharmacies in Chews Landing and Berlin also have the vaccine, and the county’s 56 long-term care facilities also have the vaccine.

But the gym at Camden County College in the Blackwood section of Gloucester Township stands empty and ready for vaccinations, whenever they arrive.

“It’s a little frustrating when you have the infrastructure up, and you’re ready to go, and you don’t have the vaccine,” Camden County Health Director Anne Walters said.

Officials weren't sure how many doses were available at the hospitals, but they said they've been vaccinating their healthcare workers as soon as they get doses. Overall, New Jersey received about 400,000 doses, although only about 100,000 had been given out as of Monday. Read more: 100K In NJ Now Vaccinated For COVID As State Looks To Expand

The lack of availability in Camden County originates with the federal government, Cappelli said, calling the Trump Administration’s nickname given to the rollout of “Operation Warp Speed” a “misnomer.”

“Back in the summer, everyone knew that there would be vaccines available, and the lack of coordination by the federal government, by the Trump Administration specifically, is just mind-boggling,” Cappelli said. “Hopefully under a new president, we’ll see a much more streamlined process, and hopefully we’ll actually see these vaccines in our hands.”

The orders for the vaccines are placed through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) weekly, Walters said. The federal government ships them all to the state, and the state determines how much each distributor will get.

“We have no control over what we’re going to get,” Walters said. “That may change every week, so that could definitely affect our abilities to vaccinate people as quickly as possible.”

When the county eventually gets the vaccine, it will open the Camden County College site and immediately begin administering vaccines to those in the 1A group, which now includes police officers and firefighters. Read more here: NJ Expands COVID-19 Vaccines As State Begins Move Into Next Phase

Once vaccine availability expands, vaccination will advance more fully to "Phase 1B," then "Phase 1C," and then "Phase 2," according to the state Department of Health.

Here is the prioritization order for receiving the vaccine:

Phase 1A: Healthcare personnel

  • Hospital

  • LTC workers

  • Veteran's home workers

  • Home care workers

  • Ambulatory and urgent care

  • clinic workers

  • Dialysis center workers

  • Dental office workers

  • Morticians and funeral home workers

  • Pharmacy workers

  • Other non-hospital healthcare facilities workers

  • Public health workers (such as those as federally qualified health centers)

  • Group home workers

  • Other paid and unpaid licensed and unlicensed healthcare workers

  • EMS personnel

  • Other healthcare settings

Phase 1A: Long-term care residents

  • Long-term care facilities

  • Veterans' homes

  • Correctional facilities, prisons, juvenile centers, county jail

  • IDD group homes

  • Mental health group homes

  • Psychiatric hospitals

  • Other long-term care settings

Phase 1B: Other essential workers

  • Food-service 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

  • Other essential workers

Phase 1C: People at high-risk of COVID-19 illness

  • People at all ages with comorbid and underlying conditions that put them at high risk of COVID-19 (such as, hypertension, obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic lung disease, cancer, chronic kidney disease, immuno-compromised, sickle cell disease)

  • 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

  • Tribal populations

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

Phase 1C: Elderly

  • People over 65

Phase 2

  • General public

New Jersey's COVID-19 vaccination program aims to:

  • Provide equitable access to all who live, work, and/or are educated in New Jersey

  • Achieve community protection, assuming vaccine effectiveness, availability and uptake

  • Build sustainable trust in COVID-19 and other vaccines

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

Gov. Phil Murphy said New Jersey is also developing a vaccine portal that will keep track of the immunization program. The site is not fully developed, but it can be found here.

Registration for the vaccination has begun, and the current link (found here) from the state Department of Health has been available.

This article originally appeared on the Gloucester Township Patch