Hoboken School Staff, Adults Surpass 90 Percent Vaccination Rate

HOBOKEN, NJ — There's good news and bad news for New Jersey as the highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus continues to spread quickly.

New Jersey has the seventh lowest rate of COVID deaths per capita right now, among U.S. states. (See the list here.) But all tolled, more than 700,000 Americans have now died from COVID.

Hoboken is fighting the virus by encouraging vaccination, as the variant continues to spread.

As of Monday, according to Mayor Ravi Bhalla, more than 95 percent of the Hoboken public school district staff is vaccinated, ahead of the Oct. 18 deadline or school staffs mandated by Gov. Phil Murphy. The Hoboken school district has among the strictest requirements for testing and vaccination of eligible students, as first reported by Patch.

Adults outside of the schools are doing pretty well in protecting themselves too: Bhalla said on Tuesday that 90 percent of people in Hoboken 30 and over have had at least one dose of the vaccine.

Fewer than 1 percent of vaccinated New Jersey residents have tested positive for COVID-19, Bhalla said.

He noted:

• Statewide, among the 5,541,443 fully vaccinated people in New Jersey, fewer than 1 percent (.55 percent) or 0,267 have tested positive for COVID-19.
• Also, 0.01 percent or 629 have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
• And 0.003 percent or 158 have died due to COVID-19 related complications.

Read on for local case statistics, booster shot information, and more.

Local Case Statistics

Bhalla said that locally, the Hoboken Health Department confirmed 43 new cases of the virus in town from Sept. 25 to Oct. 1, a seven-day period.

Since the pandemic's onset, there have been a total of 5,807 known, confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Hoboken and 56 fatalities.

Two non-Hoboken residents were hospitalized at Hoboken University Medical Center with COVID-19 as of Friday, one of whom is unvaccinated.

This is a slowdown from three weeks ago, when the hospital was treating eight unvaccinated and one vaccinated patient.

Bhalla said the health department is seeing more pediatric cases, and more from sports teams and kids' activities. Ages 20 to 30 and 30 to 40 have the highest spread, he said.

Ages of recent cases

Below is the breakdown of recent positive COVID-19 cases in Hoboken by age group since the last update:

0-11: 4

12-19: 1

20-29: 9

30-39: 21

40-49: 3

50-59: 2

60-69: 0

Vaccination Update

Below is the vaccination rate for Hoboken:

All ages: 73% (first dose)

12 and over: 84% (first dose)

18 and over: 81% (first dose)

30 and over: 90% (first dose)

65 and over: nearly 100% (first dose)

All ages: 67% (second dose)

12 and over: 77% (second dose)

18 and over: 74% (second dose)

30 and over: 83% (second dose)

65 and over: 98% (second dose)

Update on booster shots

The Hoboken Health Department worked with Hoboken Family Pharmacy to provide Pfizer booster shots and flu vaccines at pop-up clinics in six senior buildings last week. Additionally, the department had vaccine clinics with Medicine Man Pharmacy and Compounding that offered all
three vaccines, third doses for immunocompromised individuals, and Pfizer booster shots for those eligible, Bhalla said.

He said more than 200 people received their Pfizer booster shot last week through these clinics. The city will continue to offer Pfizer booster shots with Medicine Man Pharmacy and Compounding at 605 Jackson St.

Next week, the FDA's outside panel of vaccine experts is set to consider whether to recommend boosters shots for adults who received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines and the safety and effectiveness of mixing different vaccine brands, he noted. Hoboken would offer those too.

Children And Vaccines

As for kids, "While we have made great strides in vaccinating eligible Hoboken children over the age of 12 years old, it is imperative that we continue to increase vaccination rates in our youth and across all age groups," Bhalla said. Getting vaccinated not only protects yourself but those you come into contact with who are too young and thus ineligible to get vaccinated."

Right now, children under 12 cannot get vaccinated. The FDA's outside panel of experts is set to meet by the end of the month to consider Pfizer vaccines for children 5 to 11 years old, Bhalla noted.

Testing and vaccination schedule

Those seeking a vaccine at Hoboken's clinics can have their choice of Pfizer, Moderna, or
Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

• View www.hobokennj.gov/vaccine for a full schedule of clinic hours and locations where the vaccines are available.
• If you are a Hoboken resident and need a copy of your vaccination record, email LMedeiros@hobokennj.gov.
• The testing schedule can be found at www.hobokennj.gov/testing. Appointments are required, and the location has changed to 601 Jackson St.

New Jersey Hospitalizations And Other Information

The COVID vaccine is 95 percent effective against the virus, according to medical professionals, and while vaccinated people may have "breakthrough cases" — particularly among Delta — there is a lower chance of hospitalization or death for those vaccinated, they say.

On Sunday, Oct. 3, there were 1,025 people in New Jersey battling COVID in hospitals. Of those, 134 needed ventilators to help them breathe.

Here are prior weeks' numbers:

• On Saturday, Sept. 25, 1,068 people were in New Jersey hospitals battling coronavirus, according to state statistics; 129 of them on ventilators.
• Friday, Sept. 17, 1,150 people were battling COVID in New Jersey hospitals. Of those, 142 were on ventilators.
• Friday, Sept. 10, 1,167 were hospitalized in New Jersey with COVID and 128 were on ventilators.
• Friday, Sept. 3, 1,054 people in New Jersey were being treated in hospitals for COVID, 109 on ventilators.
• Friday, Aug. 27, 1,022 people were hospitalized with COVID, 98 on ventilators.
• Friday, Aug. 20: 923 hospitalized, 73 on ventilators.

Numbers of deaths and hospitalizations were coming down in New Jersey during spring as people got vaccinated, but with the Delta variant, the disease spread faster over the summer.

Read More About COVID And NJ:

• The Latest Data, Details On Breakthrough COVID-19 Cases In NJ
• COVID Hospitalizations Spike In NJ As Delta Variant Spreads
• Mayor: Westfield Had One Coronavirus Death In July
• NJ Mom Urges: Please Listen to COVID 'Long-Haulers'
• 4 Things To Know About The Delta Variant Of Coronavirus In NJ
• New Jersey Town Says: Get Vaccinated Or No Spaghetti For You
• Rise In Child COVID Hospitalizations Prompts Vaccination Plea
• NJ Hospital Preps For COVID Surge As Kids Set To Return To School

More Information

• 98 percent to 99 percent of recent COVID deaths were unvaccinated people, according to one study earlier this summer.
• Here is information on vaccine side effects, including the most rare but severe effects.
• COVID survivors may suffer from long-term symptoms.

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