When Can You Get COVID-19 Vaccine In NJ? Here's The New 2021 List

Point Pleasant NJ

01 January, 2021

10:51 AM

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NEW JERSEY – The state has now released a list that shows – in order – when everybody in New Jersey can get the COVID-19 vaccine. New Jersey announced this week that the state will roll out COVID-19 vaccines step-by-step to serve all adults who live, work or are being educated in the state (see the list and timeline below). Gov. Phil Murphy and health officials said the plan will continually be updated in response to the changing circumstances of the pandemic. New Jersey's COVID-19 vaccination program aims to: Provide equitable access to all who live, work, and/or are educated in New JerseyAchieve community protection, assuming vaccine effectiveness, availability and uptakeBuild 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. 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, but the current link (found here) says it's undergoing testing and people who have already registered don't have to do it again. Murphy expressed hope that the vaccine will finally bring an end to the coronavirus pandemic, but he said New Jersey enters 2021 on "war footing" since more than 4,000 people are contracting the virus every day. Daily reports of fatalities have also reached a seven-month high. Read more: COVID Bills Signed Into Law As NJ Death Toll Hits 7-Month High "The new year brings with it hope and optimism from the vaccine program that is expanding every day," Murphy said during his Wednesday news conference. "But look at the numbers. All of them," he added. "We can't consider ourselves done with this virus, because this virus, unfortunately, is not done with us. Let's keep fighting. And if we all do our jobs, we will make 2021 so much better than our 2020." The state's vaccination list has drawn some controversy, particularly with prison inmates being a priority. Republican Jack Ciattarelli, who is seeking to unseat Murphy in the 2021 gubernatorial election, questioned why New Jersey has begun vaccinating prisoners while nursing home residents and others continue to wait. "Once again for this governor, criminals come first," said Ciattarelli. "His administration couldn't get its act together to get nursing home patients the vaccine on time, but is quick to get it into prisons – leapfrogging our most vulnerable residents and many frontline healthcare workers." Murphy responded that the prison population is a "very vulnerable community and it's why I think we've done this responsibly and safely. He and health officials have noted that the virus spreads quickly in a congregate setting, and correctional officers can contract the virus from inmates and spread it to their local communities. "When the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) moved from long-term care to congregate settings, we do consider the prison population a congregate setting, said Health Commissioner Judith Persichill. "We're working with (state Department of Corrections) Commissioner (Marcus) Hicks to vaccinate the prison population and the employees that care for them under that heading of congregate." Currently, vaccines are available to those who are in Phase 1A, which includes paid and unpaid persons serving in health care settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials, as well as residents and staff of long-term congregate settings. State officials spelled out who those people in Phase 1A are during an earlier news conference. Read more: Here's Who Is Getting The COVID-19 Vaccine First In New Jersey Once vaccine availability expands, vaccination will advance to "Phase 1B," then "Phase 1C," and then "Phase 2," according to the state Department of Health. Currently, Phase 1B of vaccination will include frontline essential workers and individuals over 75; Phase 1C will include other essential workers, adults 65-74, and persons aged 16-64 with medical conditions that increase the risk for severe COVID-19 (see full list below). Following these phases, the general public – Phase 2 – will be eligible for vaccination. New Jersey was awarded over 400,000 vaccines in the month of December. Of that, approximately 120,000 doses have been reserved for long-term care facilities and 280,000 doses have been allocated to hospitals and community sites, according to health officials. New Jersey was awarded an additional 106,000 for the first week of January. Of that, approximately 53,000 doses have been reserved for long-term care facilities with another 53,000 being allocated to hospitals and community sites. Vaccinations began on December 15th in New Jersey hospitals for paid and unpaid persons serving in their health facilities. Read more: First COVID-19 Vaccines In NJ: Here's Who Will Get It Next Here is the prioritization order for receiving the vaccine: Phase 1A: Healthcare personnel HospitalLTC workersVeteran's home workersHome care workersAmbulatory and urgent careclinic workersDialysis center workersDental office workersMorticians and funeral home workersPharmacy workersOther non-hospital healthcare facilities workersPublic health workers (such as those as federally qualified health centers)Group home workersOther paid and unpaid licensed and unlicensed healthcare workersEMS personnelOther healthcare settings Phase 1A: Long-term care residents Long-term care facilitiesVeterans' homesCorrectional facilities, prisons, juvenile centers, county jailIDD group homesMental health group homesPsychiatric hospitalsOther long-term care settings Phase 1B: First responders PoliceFirefightersOther first responders Phase 1B: Other essential workers Food-service workersPort Authority workersNew Jersey Transit workersTeachers, staff, and childcare workersWorkers who support radio, print, internet and television news and media servicesOther 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 universitiesPeople living or working in congregate or overcrowded settings – such as migrant workersPeople living or working in congregate or overcrowded settingsTribal populationsOther 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 also provided a timeline for the various groups and when they'll be vaccinated: These counties (and Princeton) have also started vaccination programs: BergenBurlingtonCamdenCape MayEssexMercerMonmouthSomersetOceanPassaicPrincetonUnion New Jersey is partnering with Rite Aid to provide vaccinations to home care and hospice staff. Information about scheduling appointments is being provided through home health agencies and their industry associations. As of Dec. 30, through the Federal Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program with CVS and Walgreens, New Jersey has over 500 long-term care facilities scheduled -–including the State's three veterans memorial homes – and over 100,000 residents and staff slated to receive vaccinations through the beginning of February 2021. Additional sites will be added in the coming weeks. After nursing home residents and staff are vaccinated, CVS and Walgreens will begin to vaccinate thousands of residents and staff in other congregate settings including assisted living facilities, the five state developmental centers, federal housing for seniors and group homes and other long-term residential facilities. New Jersey also has a network of community vaccination sites for vulnerable residents who live in congregate settings not eligible for this federal partnership. New Jersey is also developing an extensive network of vaccination sites to serve those currently eligible for vaccination. By early January, the vaccination sites network will include acute care hospitals, large state-coordinated "mega sites," county/local sites, retail pharmacies and other medical locations. At this time, New Jersey cannot arrange for all groups to receive distributions directly, so vaccine recipients may need to go off-site to be vaccinated, health officials said.Six "mega sites" throughout New Jersey will serve as vaccination hubs for phased priority groups, part of a critical network of over 200 sites tasked with carrying out the state's COVID-19 vaccination plan fairly and equitably: Atlantic County: Atlantic City Convention CenterBergen County: Racetrack at Meadowlands, East RutherfordBurlington County: Moorestown MallGloucester County: Rowan College of South Jersey, SewellMiddlesex County: New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center, EdisonMorris County: Rockaway Townsquare The six state-coordinated sites are expected to begin opening in early January and will immediately be in a position to vaccinate front-line healthcare workers and then continue in a phased approach depending on the supply of vaccine to New Jersey, health officials said. After these phases are complete, then the general public will be eligible for vaccination. The timing of the progression among the groups depends on the supply of vaccine to the state balanced by the demand in various phases, officials said.Other things to know about the vaccine: The state has changed the immunization system from an opt-in to an opt-out program for any resident who chooses to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. People who wish to be vaccinated against COVID-19 do not have to first opt-in to the system to make sure that their two-dose regimen is properly tracked and managed.Thirty days after the current public health emergency ends, people who enrolled due to the COVID-19 vaccine will be afforded the opportunity to withdraw from the system. The Executive Order does not force anyone to receive the vaccine.The state will securely store the vaccine recipient's name, address, date of birth, race, ethnicity, and gender. These are standard data elements that have been used across vaccines administered in New Jersey.New Jerseyans can also expect to provide additional demographic and occupational data to ensure equitable and efficient scheduling of vaccinations.Medical screening questions will be asked to assess eligibility. All data collected can only be used for public health purposes, like ensuring that the same person returns for a second dose of the same COVID-19 vaccine at the right time interval.Data cannot be used for civil or criminal enforcement and cannot be used for immigration enforcement.