Secaucus 'Likely' To Reopen Rec Center As Town Vaccine Site

SECAUCUS, NJ — With the recommendation from the CDC Wednesday that all Americans should get booster shots of the coronavirus vaccine, Secaucus will likely reopen the town Rec Center as a free vaccine hub, said Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli and business administrator Gary Jeffas.

"We're going to be talking to the Hudson County health officials next week, and then likely reopening the Rec Center in the next few weeks," said Mayor Gonnelli Wednesday afternoon.

The Biden administration will start rolling out the booster shots to the states starting Sept. 20.

It will work the same way it did in the spring, with anyone who lives or works in the town of Secaucus eligible to get a booster shot there. The Secaucus town site primarily gave out Moderna and Pfizer shots.

This comes the same day the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institute of Health and President Joe Biden recommended that everyone should get booster shots of the vaccine, starting eight months after they got the Moderna or Pfizer shot. The CDC said it is still analyzing if those who got Johnson & Johnson need a booster.

"It's going to depend on demand for the vaccine," said Jeffas. "But if we have thousands and thousands of people who want the shot, as we did last spring, yes, we will have to move back into the Rec Center."

He also said it is dependent on how the vaccine is distributed, but he assumes it will be done the way the first round was: The federal government will distribute the vaccines to the states, which gives the jabs to the county level, which then distribute them to towns and healthcare centers.

The Secaucus Rec Center was busy all spring giving out hundreds of shots a day, but demand for the vaccine plummeted so much that by June that the Rec Center site closed and was converted back into a gym. Shots were moved over to Town Hall, but demand has been so low that even that site has only been open one day a week, and takes walk-ins.

However, if demand surges, Jeffas said the town will re-launch its online sign-up portal so people can schedule booster shots.

Mayor Gonnelli said he personally will be getting a booster shot.

"They said everyone should get one eight months after their first round. I will be getting one," he said Wednesday.

"It is the position of the Mayor and Council to do what is necessary to keep the people of Secaucus healthy," said Jeffas. "I have no doubt if the town needs to administer third vaccines or booster shots, we will do what is needed to make that happen as we did at the outset of the vaccination process."

The town of Secaucus had the highest vaccine rates in Hudson County, and ranked among the most vaccinated towns in New Jersey. The most recent data shows more than 93 percent of Secaucus adults got the shots.

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