MANCHESTER – As the COVID-19 mutations bring numbers of infected back up, and as kids head back to school, the Ocean County Health Department has opened a new vaccination clinic at the Ocean County Transportation Services Complex in Manchester.
This building is located at 2820 Ridgeway Road and will be open every Monday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Additionally, the clinic at the RWJBarnabas Health Arena at Toms River High School North has been reactivated. That’s located at 1245 Old Freehold Road in Toms River, and will be open every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“The clinic operation at the arena ran so smoothly, efficiently and safely the first time around and we expect the same results moving forward,” said Daniel Regenye, OCHD Public Health Coordinator/Health Officer. “The Manchester site will now give residents another convenient option.”
Both clinics will provide the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccine options and will accommodate immunocompromised individuals in need of the additional third dose. The booster dose for the general population will be offered beginning on September 20. Appointments are recommended but walk-ins are welcome.
The Health Department records positive test results for COVID-19. The numbers in Ocean County were relatively low compared to other places in the country. At the end of August, the numbers started to come up to around 200 new cases a day. This is about half as much as the county had during the worst of it, in the winter of 2020.
“The Manchester clinic site is another good location that will serve many of our senior residents living in that part of the county,” said Ocean County Commissioner Gerry P. Little, Liaison to the Ocean County Board of Health. “There are still many people that are in need of the first, second or now an additional and booster dose and we want to make sure people have convenient opportunities to get one.”
Ocean County Commissioner Director Gary Quinn added, “Our goal is to make getting the vaccine as easy as possible for everyone by providing clinics in as many regions of the county as we can. The moment we learned of the booster recommendations, the OCHD and its partners went to work making sure we had additional clinics and resources available to best serve our residents.”
Visit ochd.org for a detailed list of upcoming OCHD vaccination clinics and testing sites. You can call the county’s health information line at 732-380-5079 for more information.
