Cancellation Emails For NJ 'Mega-Site' Sent In Error: Officials

DEPTFORD TOWNSHIP, NJ — No appointments for the state’s COVID-19 vaccination “mega-site” at Rowan College of South Jersey have been cancelled for Tuesday.

An email notifying residents that their appointment at the Gloucester County site was canceled was sent in error, state and county officials said.

They both issued the statement after residents received “missed appointment” emails relating to appointments that had been scheduled for today.

“We will honor all appointments that were scheduled for today,” county officials said. “Please show proof of appointment when you arrive at the Gloucester County Mega Vaccination Site.”

The site is located at 1400 Tanyard Road in Sewell.

"You may have received an email about missing your appointment, with the subject line, 'COVID-19 Vaccine Missed Appointment Alert,'" the New Jersey Department of Health said in a follow-up email Tuesday. "If your appointment is scheduled for today, this message was sent in error, and you can safely ignore it. Your appointment is confirmed for its original time. Please bring your original confirmation email with you to the appointment. We apologize for the confusion this missed appointment email has caused."

The error follows an issue two weeks ago in which an error in the statewide scheduling system was double-booking appointments. That error was worked out with the state's vendor, officials said at the time. Read more here: NJ Statewide Error Causes COVID Vaccine Scheduling Problems

Prior to that, the Rowan College site was identified as one of two sites that weren't scheduling second dose appointments at the time the residents were getting their first vaccination. Gloucester County officials said that issues with the state scheduling system played a factor, and that they would work on their own scheduling system. Read more here: NJ Says COVID Vaccine Sites Must Schedule 2nd Doses. Some Didn't.

The site was closed for one day because there were no appointments and no vaccine as a result of the issue, but it reopened the following day. Read more here: South Jersey 'Mega-Site' Reopens

Despite the issues, county officials said earlier this week that they expect to hit 50,000 total vaccinations by the end of the week. As of Monday, they had vaccinated more than 37,000 people at the site, which is open to residents from all over the state.

“Since opening at the beginning of January, the site has been averaging about 2,500 shots a day,” Gloucester County Commissioner Director Robert M. Damminger said. “We’ve been working very hard to vaccinate as many individuals as we can at the Mega Site, and we’re looking forward to hitting the 50,000-vaccination milestone.”

Officials provided numbers for vaccinations that were administered since Feb. 3:

• Wednesday, February 3, 2021: 2,612
• Thursday, February 4, 2021: 2,479
• Friday, February 5, 2021: 2,584
• Saturday, February 6, 2021: 2,613
• Sunday, February 7, 2021: 1,044 On this day, the site was only open for second dose appointments.

At this time, Gloucester County is only able to vaccinate individuals in Phase 1A and Phase 1B, which is preset by the New Jersey Department of Health.

Anyone who is eligible but has not received an email to schedule their appointment should check their junk mail. Anyone who did not receive an email to schedule their appointment in their main or junk inboxes is asked to be patient.

There is no guarantee that anyone who comes to the site with the intent to walk-in will receive a vaccine. Vaccines are only guaranteed to anyone who has an appointment.

You can preregister for the vaccine on the NJ Vaccine Scheduling System, and you will be notified when an appointment is available to you. For help to register, contact the state’s hotline at 855-568-0545. Operators are available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Gloucester County COVID-19 Vaccine Hotline is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to answer any questions. The number is 856-218-4142.