East Brunswick Hosts First COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic At New Site

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — People stood patiently in a long line outside the Community Arts Center in East Brunswick on Thursday, as the site opened for the first time to administer the COVID-19 vaccine.

Inside the township’s new site, Mayor Brad Cohen was busy helping healthcare workers.

A physician by profession, Cohen donned his scrubs for the day and was seen administering the COVID-19 vaccine.

“We are just thrilled we’ve been selected and happy to be able to do our part in the vaccination program,” he said in a video posted on the township's Facebook page.

“Clearly, we all know we are in a crisis right now. We want as many people to get vaccinated as quickly as possible.”

East Brunswick said 600 people were vaccinated on the first day. The site opened only on Thursday as it received enough vaccines from the state to administer doses. The site was closed Friday.

“Really the only way we could get to herd immunity and back to a somewhat normal way of life is by the vaccination program that we are doing,” Cohen said.

He thanked the state government and county officials for choosing East Brunswick as a site for administering the COVID-19 vaccine.

The site will open based on vaccine supply to Middlesex County. Currently there's a nationwide shortage of COVID-19 vaccines.

In an address to the community on Jan. 20, Cohen urged residents to be patient, saying the township had no control over the distribution of vaccines.

"At this point in time we are all in the same scenario. There are simply just not enough vaccines coming to the state, and the state therefore does not have the ability to make sure the counties get a regular supply on a regular enough schedule," he said.

On Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy too urged patience and said he was looking into fixing the shortage.

"We continue to ask for patience; all we need are these doses," he said. "We will get it there. We are ready to kick into high gear whenever our supply increases."

"It won't be tomorrow; it probably won't be next week. But everyone who wants to be vaccinated will be vaccinated," the governor promised. "There is far more demand than we have actual supply of doses available."

Across New Jersey, many sites closed due to the shortage, while others stopped taking registration as the demand increased supply.

People who have previously registered have now been placed on a waitlist and will be called once the vaccine is available in their category.

Middlesex County and New Jersey are following a phased approach to administering the vaccine, as set by the CDC. You can find more details on eligibility by clicking here.

The East Brunswick site does not have a registration portal. To register for a COVID-19 vaccine, please visit the state portal https://covidvaccine.nj.gov/.

Those who cannot register online can call Middlesex County's Call Center at 732-745-3100 for help. The state also has a toll free vaccination hotline: 855-568-0545. The hotline is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day and can help callers in more than 240 different languages.

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