There are a multitude of ways in which New Jersey residents can make an appointment to receive the coronavirus vaccine, although only a very small percentage of the state’s population has had the chance so far.
This is mainly because most people in the Garden State are still not eligible. Qualified individuals include people in priority groups, especially health workers, first responders, people over the age of 65, and people with chronic health conditions.
All New Jersey residents can pre-register for the vaccine through the state’s online COVID-19 vaccination registration website. The state also offers a call center for the appointment of vaccines, but there are reports that people have been on wheels for hours trying to get through.
New Jersey does not have a centralized vaccination system for vaccines. Instead, there are more than 200 vaccination sites, 90 phone numbers to possibly call, and 79 different sites that are eligible for people across the state to check while trying to schedule an appointment.
An appointment is needed at almost the vaccination center. Cases in which people were able to get a chance without planning ahead are extremely rare – not least because even if officials are willing to remove the information from people hoping to get a chance in the place of an appointment without showing up, they won ‘contact them not necessarily.
“We can not just decide if we are eligible,” said Leslie Kantor, a professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health. ‘Some people, it’s quite clear. Healthcare workers, they are going to get through right away. “But for others, even those who recently qualified for a vaccine, including those aged 18 to 64 with certain underlying health conditions – there could be a delay because other groups are not finished yet,” she noted.
Office has approved that New Jersey residents are eligible to make appointments with various sites, as long as they remain accountable if they overbook themselves.
“Because we have a challenging supply situation and do not have a centralized schedule, it is obviously good to try to get appointments in different places,” Kantor said. “If you happen to get more than one, cancel one.”
New Jersey is currently creating more vaccination options for residents. Government Phil Murphy on Wednesday announced that a federal retail pharmacy program with Rite Aid and CVS will begin next week, and that the state is expanding its COVID vaccine distribution program to some worship services and community centers.
The Rockaway Townsquare in Morris county, one of the six mega-sites for coronavirus vaccination, is planning an online appointment with the Atlantic Health System, which also allows individuals to sign up to receive vaccinations sent to their phone or email address.
At the vaccination megacite at the Atlantic city Conference Center, appointments are made online by AtlantiCare; at the Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment Complex vaccination site Bergen county, appointments can virtually be made with Hackensack Meridian Health.
Both in the Moorestown Mall Burlington county and the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center in Middlesex county requires qualified individuals to first complete a separate online vaccination form with Virtua Health and Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health, respectively, after which they will receive an email or text message to schedule their appointment.
The Rowan College of South Jersey in Gloucester county make appointments through registrations made on the nationwide website.
In addition to mega-vaccination sites, qualifying New Jersey residents can follow a myriad of other ways to make an appointment to receive the vaccine.
The Department of Health in Burlington county has partnered with state and Virtua Health to run the mega-website Burlington County at the Moorestown Mall, and announced on its website that the country will not receive vaccines for new first-dose clinics in the coming weeks. The county previously operated clinics at the Burlington County Emergency Services Training Center in Westampton.
Appointments in Burlington County can also be made by calling the Boyd’s Pharmacy Sites website, visiting the ShopRite Pharmacy Locations website, electronically calling or scheduling at Riverside Medical Group’s urgent care facility in Willingboro, or making an appointment with the Southern Jersey Family Medical Centers in Buttonwood or Burlington City.
Residents of Hunterdon county can register online to receive a vaccine at clinics in Flemington and coordinated by the Department of Health, or try to make an appointment with the ShopRite pharmacy in Flemington or Clinton. Eligible residents can also call the Hunterdon Healthcare Vaccination Center to schedule an appointment at one of the many clinics in the network.
The largest number of vaccination opportunities are currently in Essex county, where medical centers, including Hackensack Meridian Health, accept online appointments, and various appointments at the Newark Community Health Centers by telephone.
In addition to ShopRite pharmacies and small emergency care facilities, there are also healthcare facilities in Essex County that administer the vaccine, ranging from Vanguard Medical Group – which only accepts the appointment of vaccines for its patients through an online scheduling app – and St. Michael’s Hospital – where appointments can be made online.
People who live, work or go to school in Warren county can make an appointment to receive the vaccine online at North Warren High School, the Southwest Branch Library or the Good Will Fire Company.
Warren County residents can make appointments through Hunterdon Healthcare’s Vaccine Call Center for Hunterdon Family Medicine in Riverfield, Washington, or through the Atlantic Health System for Hackettstown Medical Center. St. Luke’s in Phillipsburg requires all individuals wishing to receive the vaccine to create a MyChart account, allowing them to complete the hospital’s short questionnaire and then notify them of their vaccination plans.
In other provinces, vaccine opportunities are very limited. Apart from appointments with ShopRite pharmacies in Rio Grande or Marmora, Cape May County residents can get the chance at the provincial clinics by pre-registering for the vaccine with the state. The health departments for Middlesex and Somerset counties also coordinate appointments at the state rather than at the provincial level.
In Salem county, individuals have the option of making an online appointment for vaccination clinics organized by the Department of Health and Human Services. They can also get the chance with the Southern Jersey Family Medical Center in Salem by making an online appointment.
Some New Jersey residents live in municipalities that have created coronavirus vaccination options for their residents. The Health Department of Vineland in Cumberland county offers vaccine clinics, for which residents can schedule appointments online.
Hoboken in Hudson county has partnered with Riverside Medical Group and Hoboken University Medical Center to provide a coronavirus vaccine to residents and healthcare professionals. Eligible groups must first complete an online form, after which a staff member will contact them to officially schedule an appointment.
Individuals can register online here to receive a coronavirus vaccine from the state Department of Health, or call to make an appointment with a toll-free telephone line.
The full list of vaccination opportunities in the state, according to provinces, can be found here.
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Caroline Fassett can be reached at [email protected].