Neighborhood COVID-19 Vaccine Center To Open In Camden

CAMDEN, NJ — A new COVID-19 vaccination site is opening in Camden County, to serve Camden residents, on Saturday, officials announced.

The first neighborhood-based COVID-19 Vaccination and Education Center will open at the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center, 1865 Harrison Avenue in Camden, on Saturday.

It will initially be open on Mondays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tuesdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The goal is to vaccinate 500 people a day, and hours will expand as vaccine supplies increase.

Vaccinations will be by appointment in accordance with New Jersey State prioritization categories. Multi-lingual staff will be available at the center to help residents sign-up for appointments and provide education on the vaccine.

Camden residents can schedule an appointment online at my.cooperhealth.org or call 856-225-6141.

The announcement was made by Cooper University Health Care, which will run the site. Camden County officials noted the opening during a news conference earlier in the week, but said the site would not be run by the county.

As of Friday morning, Camden had the most coronavirus cases in the county since the pandemic began, with 8,171 of the county’s 38,352 cases, according to numbers provided by the Camden County Department of Health.

Camden County also has had 1,023 deaths, but they don’t break down the number of total deaths by town. Three Camden residents were among the 15 most recent deaths in the county. A man in his 60s and two women in their 60s were on the list that was announced on Wednesday.

The Cramer Hill and East Camden section makes up 38 percent of Camden’s population, but accounts for 44 percent of COVID-19 cases in the city, according to Cooper Health.

“Camden has been the hardest hit community in Camden County during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this first of its kind neighborhood vaccination and education center will help save lives by making it easier for more Camden residents to get the COVID-19 vaccine as well as connect with health care professionals to answer their questions and concerns,” Cooper co-CEO Kevin O’Dowd said.

“Along with our COVID-19 testing site in the city, this new neighborhood COVID-19 vaccination and education site will help us provide important health care information to local residents from a source they have come to trust,” Cooper co-CEO Anthony J. Mazzarelli said. “It will also be easier for them to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to protect themselves and their loved ones from the virus.”

This vaccination center is also unique as it will be the first in the nation to be established at one of The Salvation Army’s network of community centers, officials said. Cooper, as the leading academic health system in the region with a more than 130-year history in the city, is also well-known in the neighborhood and even operates a primary care office at the Kroc Center.

“The Salvation Army has been fighting COVID-19 on the front lines since the pandemic began,” Kroc Administrator Capt. Keith Maynor said. “We are blessed to partner with Cooper to offer critical vaccination services and educational outreach for our neighbors in the Camden community.”

“The City of Camden has been hard hit by this pandemic from the very start,” Camden Mayor Frank Moran said. “Camden has been fortunate to have outstanding community partners like those at Cooper University Health Care and Camden County who continue to aid our residents in the battle against the COVID-19 virus. We all must do our part to protect our families, neighbors, co-workers and those most vulnerable living within our community. Having access to the vaccine and trusted healthcare professionals at neighborhood sites like the Salvation Army Kroc Center is a difference-maker. I have recently been vaccinated myself and can assure residents that the vaccine is safe. I urge all eligible Camden residents to get the vaccine, so we can put an end to this public health crisis.”

Officials said they selected the Kroc Center as the site because it is a “well-known facility providing a wide-range of community services.” When he visited Camden in 2015, then-President Barack Obama called Camden “a symbol of promise for the nation.” Read more here: President Obama Appears In New Jersey, Praises Camden’s Progress

As a place trusted by the community, the Kroc Center is a great location to not only provide access to the COVID-19 vaccine, but to simultaneously create a community setting where local residents can go to learn more about the vaccine, officials said.

“It has been eleven months since the coronavirus pandemic hit South Jersey, and we are still in the midst of both a public health crisis and an economic crisis,” Rep. Donald Norcross, D-Burlington/Camden/Gloucester, said. “This new COVID-19 vaccination and education center will provide Camden residents with access to the vaccine and outreach services. While no one could have predicted the pandemic, I commend Cooper University Health Care and Camden County for their responsiveness and innovation during these uncertain times to get testing, vaccines and resources to those in our community who need it most.”

“Expanding our vaccination efforts to neighborhood based institutions like the Kroc Center are critical to reaching and vaccinating everyone in our community,” Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said. “Working with our partners at Cooper, we believe opening this clinic will provide us with a strong vehicle to deliver this important vaccine. Ultimately, this vaccine is a beginning to the end of this pandemic, and we want to ensure it gets into the hands of every Camden resident.”

Cooper will also continue to support Camden County’s vaccination center in the Papiano Gym at Camden County College, 200 College Drive in the Blackwood section of Gloucester Township. That site is open to all county residents, and operates Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It is supported by volunteers from Cooper University Health Care, Jefferson Health — New Jersey, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, and Rutgers College of Nursing, who will distribute the Moderna Vaccine. To register for a vaccination, visit www.CamdenCountyVaccine.com.