COVID Vaccine Supply To Gloucester Twp. Site Expected To Double

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Camden County officials said on Wednesday that they are expecting their supply of coronavirus vaccine doses to double in the next few weeks, from 2,000 doses weekly to 4,000 doses weekly.

They also remind residents that when they are registering to get the coronavirus vaccine, they shouldn’t be discouraged if they get appointments that are months away.

During a news conference on Wednesday, Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said the county expects to see the supply of the vaccine coming into the county site in Gloucester Township to dramatically increase in the next few weeks.

This should help solve a problem residents have come across in the early days of vaccine distribution, in which they often see their appointments scheduled later in the summer or early in the fall. This is due to a lack of availability, but as more doses become available, appointments will be moved up, officials said.

In fact, more than 400 seniors in Camden County have already had their appointments moved up in the last couple of weeks, Assistant Camden County Public Health Coordinator Caryelle Lasher said.

It’s one of the things that are trending in the right direction, Cappelli said. Residents will begin receiving their second doses of the vaccine at the site in the Papiano Gym on Camden County College’s Blackwood campus on Thursday, and more than 12,000 residents have already been vaccinated.

On Wednesday, 93 additional coronavirus cases were announced in the county. As of Wednesday, 37,552 Camden County residents had tested positive for the coronavirus and 983 had died since the pandemic began.

“We have experienced rising and falling cases for nearly a year now, but never before have we been closer to the end of this fight,” Cappelli said. “With trends heading in the right direction, and cases continuing to fall, we must take every step possible to limit the spread of this virus so as not to reverse our progress. Keep wearing a mask, social distancing, and avoiding indoor gatherings.”

The number of new cases has also dropped to 179 a week. It was about 320 a week about a month ago, officials said. The infection rate has also dropped to 0.82, meaning that every Camden County resident infected with the coronavirus is infecting fewer than one other person.

Officials said that while the numbers are trending in the right direction, it is important for Camden County residents to help things stay that way.

In addition to wearing masks and following the social distancing guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), residents also need to be cognizant of others when making their appointments to get vaccinated.

“It’s alright to sign up for several different lists to make sure you get an appointment,” Rep. Donald Norcross, D-Burlington/Camden/Gloucester, said. “If you’re on seven lists, and you get an appointment, you need to call the others back and say, ‘I’m not coming to you.’”

Officials have frequently cautioned residents to register through their county websites as well as their state websites when trying to get an appointment to get vaccinated. But registering in different places means that each organization will hold a dose for you until you notify them that you already received an appointment elsewhere. That might mean someone else doesn’t get an appointment.

“You need to do what’s right for your neighbors,” Lasher said. “If one person is holding up vaccines at four different sites, that could be a matter of life or death for someone else.”

Officials remind residents to get their second dose at the same site in which they received their first. They should register for their second dose while they are on site getting their first dose.
This helps to ensure that residents don’t mix different vaccines together. They also said they can’t accept appointments for anyone who received their first dose elsewhere.

The four-lane vaccination site is located in the Papiano Gym at Camden County College, 200 College Drive in the Blackwood section of Gloucester Township. It is usually open 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.

There are a total of 11 sites in Camden County that offer the coronavirus vaccine. Read more here: Here's Where You Can Find A COVID Vaccine Site In Camden County

Who is eligible for vaccination at this time?
Currently, vaccines are available to the following groups:
Healthcare Personnel (Phase 1A)
Paid and unpaid persons serving in health care settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials, including, but not limited to:

• Licensed healthcare professionals like doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and dentists
• Staff like receptionists, janitors, mortuary services, laboratory technicians
• Consultants, per diem, and contractors who are not directly employed by the facility
• Unpaid workers like health professional students, trainees, volunteers, and essential caregivers
• Community health workers, doulas, and public health professionals like Medical Reserve Corps
• Personnel with variable venues like EMS, paramedics, funeral staff, and autopsy workers
• All workers in acute, pediatric, and behavioral health hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers
• All workers in health facilities like psychiatric facilities, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and rehabs
• All workers in clinic-based settings like urgent care clinics, dialysis centers, and family planning sites
• All workers in long-term care settings like nursing homes, assisted living facilities, group homes, and others
• All workers in occupational-based healthcare settings like health clinics within workplaces, shelters, jails, colleges and universities, and K-12 schools
• All workers in community-based healthcare settings like PACE and Adult Living Community Nursing
• All workers in home-based settings like hospice, home care, and visiting nurse services
• All workers in office-based healthcare settings like physician and dental offices
• All workers in public health settings like local health departments, LINCS agencies, harm reduction centers, and medicinal marijuana programs
• All workers in retail, independent, and institutional pharmacies
• Other paid or unpaid people who work in a healthcare setting, who may have direct or indirect contact with infectious persons or materials, and who cannot work from home.

Long-Term Care Residents and Staff (Phase 1A)
All residents and staff of long-term and congregate care facilities, including:

• Skilled nursing facilities
• Veterans homes
• Group homes like residential care homes, adult family homes, adult foster homes, and intellectual and developmental disabilities group homes
• HUD 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program residences
• Institutional settings like psychiatric hospitals, correctional institutions, county jails, and juvenile detention facilities (for eligible minors, e.g. 16+ years of age may be eligible for Pfizer vaccine under the emergency use authorization)
• Other vulnerable, congregate, long-term settings

First Responders (Phase 1B)
Sworn law enforcement, firefighters, and other first responders, including:

• New Jersey State Police troopers
• Municipal and county police officers
• Campus police officers
• Detectives in prosecutors' offices and state agencies
• State agency/authority law enforcement officers (such as State Park Police and Conservation officers, Palisades Interstate Parkway officers, Human Services police, and NJ Transit police)
• Investigator, parole and secured facilities officers
• Aeronautical operations specialists
• Sworn federal law enforcement officers and special agents
• Bi-state law enforcement officers (such as the Port Authority)
• Court Security Officers
• Paid and unpaid members of firefighting services (structural and wildland)
• Paid and unpaid members of search and rescue units including technical rescue units and HAZMAT teams
• Paid and unpaid firefighters who provide emergency medical services
• Paid and unpaid members of Industrial units that perform fire, rescue and HAZMAT services
• Members of State Fire Marshal's Offices
• Bi-state fire service personnel (such as the Port Authority)

Individuals at High Risk (Phase 1B)
Individuals aged 65 and older, and individuals ages 16-64 with medical conditions, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that increase the risk of severe illness from the virus. These conditions include:

• Cancer
• Chronic kidney disease
• COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
• Down Syndrome
• Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
• Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2)
• Severe Obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2)
• Sickle cell disease
• Smoking
• Type 2 diabetes mellitus

Individuals who are pregnant and those in an immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant are also eligible but should follow CDC guidance and first discuss vaccination with their medical provider before receiving the vaccine.
If you are currently eligible, click here for more information on where to get vaccinated.
Who is eligible for vaccination next?

• Additional frontline essential workers (Phase 1B)
• Other essential workers and people living in congregate settings (Phase 1C)
• General population (Phase 2)

This group was designated as 1B, and will likely be next:

• Foodservice 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 (CISA)
• Other essential workers

This group was originally designated as 1C:

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

NOTE: Vaccination phases are tentative and subject to change. The movement between vaccination eligibility phases may be fluid. One phase may overlap with another. Not all individuals in each phase will be vaccinated before opening to additional groups, and not all groups within a specific phase will be made eligible to receive the vaccine at the same time.

An announcement regarding when additional frontline essential workers and individuals at high risk will be eligible for the vaccine under Phase 1B and Phase 1C will be forthcoming, officials said.