Somerset County Rolls Out COVID-19 Vaccine For Health Workers

SOMERSET COUNTY, NJ — Somerset County has begun to roll out the COVID-19 vaccine for its health workers on Tuesday.

Dr. Namitha Reddy, the Director of the Somerset County Department of Health (SCDOH) and leader of the county’s COVID-19 response, received the first shot from nurse Ravi Modh of the Rutgers Nurse Anesthesia Program to demonstrate her confidence in the vaccine.

"If I am going to ask my friends and neighbors in Somerset County to get vaccinated, it is vital that I step up and do it myself to show how confident I am in its safety and efficacy," said Reddy. "We’ve all worked so hard together in the past year to get through the pandemic, and with this vaccine we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and be ready to find our new normal."

Somerset County received the vaccine developed and manufactured by Moderna, Inc., which requires two shots 28 days apart for maximum effectiveness.

The vaccinations were administered to four people at a time, and then they were asked to rest for 15 minutes to identify any possible reactions from the vaccine.

Along with Reddy, about 140 Somerset County community health personnel received their initial shots Tuesday in preparation for the rollout to the public.

Somerset County's next step will be to vaccinate first responders, starting the first week of the new year while strictly following the criteria set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"This is a very important day for Somerset County, but there is a lot more we need to do in the coming months to be sure every adult who wants to be vaccinated can be vaccinated," said Freeholder Director Shanel Y. Robinson, whose full-time job is in the healthcare industry. "We are very glad to have our state, federal, and private business partners working towards the goal of protecting Somerset County from COVID-19."

While Somerset County health officials will receive the Moderna vaccine, the hospitals such as Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset began administering the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer, Inc. to its staff last week. Long-term care residents and staff also began receiving doses on Monday this week.

Somerset County is currently identifying sites where it can safely and quickly provide vaccines soon after they are received by the federal government. The primary vaccination site will be at Raritan Valley Community College, and smaller sites are currently planned for the Bridgewater Senior Center, Quail Brook Golf Course in Franklin, and Warrenbrook Golf Course in Warren.

Additional sites will be rolled out to ensure every resident who wants to be vaccinated has a location within easy travel distance of their residence. The SCDOH has created three regions – North, Central, and South – based on geographic size and population and it will announce additional locations and partners as they are identified.

Per the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control, priority for distribution of the vaccine will be determined based on the following categories:

• Group 1A – Community Health Care Workers
• Group 1B – Essential Employees
• Group 1C – High Risk Members of the General Population

As the supply of vaccines grow during 2021, the groups to receive vaccines will expand to include the general population. Most Somerset County residents who want a vaccination should be able to receive their initial dose by mid-spring and complete their vaccination by August 2021.

All vaccinations will be provided free of charge but will require participants to register using the Somerset County Health Department’s online tool that will be interoperable with state and federal systems to ensure accurate and complete record keeping.

For more information on Somerset County’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout, visit https://bit.ly/3nXRYHO. Additional information on COVID-19 testing in Somerset County is available at https://bit.ly/38KzrZa.