OCEAN COUNTY – As a significant portion of the population is allowed access to the coronavirus vaccines, the system is buckling under the demand and the supply of vaccine has not caught up.
Healthcare workers, long-term care facility residents, first responders, seniors, and those with serious medical conditions are able to get the vaccine in New Jersey. But if there’s no vaccine to be had, does this matter?
Ocean County was receiving 5,000 doses of the vaccine a week, The Asbury Park Press reported. That dropped to 3,000 one week, and then went up to 3,500 the next.
According to the 2018 census, seniors in Ocean County numbered at around 130,000. Even at 5,000 a week, that would take at least seven months to vaccinate them all. It would likely be longer because the vaccine requires two doses.
And that doesn’t include the number of people who are healthcare workers, first responders, and others.
The 5,000 a week figure are just the vaccines being provided to the Ocean County government to distribute. There are others, like certain medical facilities and pharmacies, who have their own supply. Those numbers were unknown as of press time.
The state has prioritized vaccine roll-out toward people who are the most likely to get the virus and to have a serious case. Therefore, the first group to be vaccinated were health care workers and those living in long-term care facilities like nursing homes. Those people are designated Phase 1A, which started the process on December 15.
Gov. Phil Murphy also opened it up to police and firefighters on January 7. Then, on January 14, Murphy announced on social media that residents ages 65 and older can be vaccinated, and anyone between the ages of 16-64 can sign up as long as they meet the medical conditions defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The governor has been criticized for allowing more people to access the vaccine than there are vaccines. This has led to a mad rush of people trying to sign up and being frustrated for not making the cut.
Worse still, the process is mostly online, and many seniors either don’t have computers or aren’t computer savvy enough to navigate the website. Those folks are urged to call the state call center at 855-568-0545. However, since it’s busy during the day, officials have recommended they call from 6-8 p.m. (It is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.)
At a recent Berkeley Township Council meeting, the governing body urged the state to allow senior clubhouses to become vaccination clinics. These buildings have been used as flu vaccination sites in past years.
“I want to be clear: our state doesn’t have enough vaccine supply right now,” said Congressman Andy Kim (D-3rd). “I’ve heard it from so many of our neighbors every day. I know you’re frustrated, and I am too. While the current vaccines were approved quickly, there was never a central plan to ensure they were distributed just as fast. Because of that, we’re playing catch up.”
He said he’s been pressing the Biden administration to increase capacity and resources immediately.
Congress is able to craft legislation and direct money toward certain causes. Kim said he helped secure more than $200 million for New Jersey funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. There is another $8 billion federally being appropriated for vaccine distribution.
Congressman Chris Smith (R-4th) applauded the $216 million from FEMA.
“I greatly welcome this important federal reimbursement to assist New Jersey’s six mega sites in the distribution of vaccines,” he said.
Smith said this funding will help pay for medical supplies, medical waste containers, transportation and storage of the vaccines, personnel, and personal protective equipment (PPE).
