Gloucester Township COVID-19 Vaccine Site Ensuring 2nd Doses

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Officials are ensuring that anyone who is getting their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine at Camden County’s vaccination site in Gloucester Township has an appointment to get their second dose before they leave that day, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

“When you receive your vaccination at the county site you are signed up for an appointment for your second dose inside the building,” Camden County spokesman Kyle Sullender told Patch in an email. “No one leaves without a follow-up appointment having been scheduled.”

The comments came in response to a media inquiry after the "mega-site" in Gloucester County was found to not be scheduling second appointments at the time residents were coming for their first dose. Read more here: Gov. Murphy Urges Patience, Fix For NJ COVID Vaccine Shortage

The Gloucester County site was also closed on Monday because it didn’t have enough vaccinations. It reopened on Tuesday.

“With regard to vaccines running out, once we reach the first week of second doses scheduled at our site, the state will begin sending two allotments each week – one for first doses and another for the appropriate number of second doses,” Sullender said. “It is not a situation where we have to hold back doses for those future appointments.”

As of Thursday, there have been 35,818 cases of the coronavirus and 914 deaths in Camden County since the pandemic began. This includes 182 new cases announced on Thursday. No new deaths were announced.

“Today the seven-day average of new cases in Camden County fell below 200 for just the second time since November 12,” Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said. “We flattened the curve once, and we are doing it again. After nearly a year of this pandemic, I continue to be in awe of the selflessness I see in our community as neighbors work to help and protect one another. If we keep wearing masks, social distancing, and avoiding indoor gatherings, then these trends will continue moving in the right direction.”

The Gloucester Township site in the Papiano Gym at Camden County College is one of 10 vaccination sites countywide, but it is the only one run by the county. It is located at 200 College Drive in the Blackwood section of the township. Read more here: Updated COVID Vaccine Site List In Camden County

The four-lane vaccination site is open Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be 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 Vaccie. To register for a vaccination, visit www.CamdenCountyVaccine.com.

Anyone can pre-register to get vaccinated, even if they don't qualify for a vaccine yet, by visiting covidvaccinenj.gov.

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.

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