Essex County Begins Providing Coronavirus Vaccinations – TAPinto.net
Essex County began administering the newly approved Moderna vaccine on Saturday, giving the first vaccinations to the medical directors of the county jail and the county hospital.
“Receiving the vaccine is the light at the end of the tunnel and getting vaccinated will help tremendously in stopping the spread of the deadly coronavirus,” said Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr.
“We have been looking forward to this day and worked in partnership with our mayors, local health officials, public safety officers and emergency management personnel to make sure our sites would be ready and operational as soon as the vaccines were received,” DiVincenzo said. “I encourage everyone to get the vaccine.”
More than 45,700 people in Essex County have tested positive for COVID-19, the most in the state, and more than 2,100 people have died, also the most in the state.
DiVincenzo said Essex County is following guidelines from the NJ Department of Health that sets priorities of who is eligible to receive the vaccine in the first phase. The county has established five vaccination centers throughout Essex County. To make an appointment, please visit EssexCOVID.org or call 973-877-8456.
Limited doses of the vaccine are available, and the state Department of Health has compiled a phased in approach to ensure the vaccine is distributed in a fair and equitable manner until larger quantities of the vaccine become available.
Those who are eligible to receive the vaccine first are paid and unpaid healthcare workers who may have contact with infected patients or infectious materials and people who are at a higher risk of severe COVID-19 illness, including those over the age of 65 and those with underlying health issues.
Next to receive the vaccine will be critical populations which include, but are not limited to, healthcare workers (hospital, long-term care, home care, urgent care and clinics, dialysis centers, dental offices, funeral homes, pharmacies public health, group homes, EMS); first responders, food and agriculture workers, transportation, education and child care, energy, water and sanitation, law enforcement and government; adults at higher risk (long term care residents, people ages 65 and older, those with underlying medical conditions, immunocompromised, incarcerated, homeless shelters, group homes and other congregate settings such as psychiatric facilities); and others at high risk (communities that have disproportionately acquired or died from COVID-19, colleges and universities, people with disabilities and people who are under- or uninsured).
The general population will be vaccinated last.
Each vaccination site is set up in a similar fashion. Residents entering the site will first be pre-screened to verify they have an appointment. Those who do not have an appointment will not be allowed to receive the vaccine that day.
Residents will then proceed to a registration table where they will be provided with their paperwork for their visit and receive a card to remind them about their second appointment. After being inoculated with the vaccine, residents will be required to wait 15 minutes while they are monitored for any side effects.
Essex County Locations for Coronavirus Vaccine
| Location | Address | Municipality | Must be from one of these communities | Notes |
| Essex County College | 303 University Avenue | Newark | Newark, East Orange and Irvington | Gym entrance on West Market Street |
| Essex County Donald M. Payne, Sr. School of Technology | 498-544 West Market Street | Newark | Newark, East Orange and Irvington. | This site will open in January 2021 |
| Former Kmart building | 235 Prospect Avenue | West Orange | West Orange, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Montclair, Newark, Nutley and Verona | |
| Livingston Mall – former Sears building | 112 Eisenhower Parkway | Livingston | Livingston, Belleville, Maplewood, Millburn, Newark, Orange and South Orange | Entrance is in the back |
| Essex County West Caldwell School of Technology | 620 Passaic Avenue | West Caldwell | West Caldwell, Bloomfield, Caldwell, Fairfield, Glen Ridge, Newark, North Caldwell and Roseland |