Essex County Rolls Out Booster Shots; 357 Given On First Day – Patch.com

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The first day of Essex County’s COVID-19 booster shot program ended with more than 350 doses of vaccine put into arms, officials reported.

The eligibility list includes some people on active cancer treatments, people who have received an organ transplant, or people with a “moderate or severe” immunodeficiency disorder.

“The CDC does not recommend additional doses or booster shots for any other population at this time,” the agency said.

On Saturday, Essex County kicked off its own booster shot program, giving out 357 doses. Of those shots, 305 were of Moderna, and 52 were the Pfizer version.

Through much of the pandemic, Essex County was running five vaccination centers in Livingston, Newark, West Caldwell and West Orange. Operations have since scaled down to a pair of sites in Newark and West Orange.

Each of the available versions of the vaccine are available, including the Johnson & Johnson and Moderna versions, as well as the Pfizer version, which is available to kids 12 and older. Children ages 12 to 17 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

To accommodate the administration of the booster shots, the hours of operation at the Essex County Vaccination Centers at Kmart and Essex County College have been expanded to six days a week from Mondays to Saturdays. The centers are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

Kmart is located at 235 Prospect Avenue in West Orange; Essex County College is located at 177 West Market Street in Newark. Appointments aren’t needed, but can be made by visiting www.EssexCOVID.org or calling 973-877-8456.

Booster shots won’t be available at the mobile clinics or pop-up sites organized by Essex County.

“Essex County has been administering vaccines since December 2020 and we are prepared to administer the booster shots,” County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said.

“Just like our original vaccination process, we will administer booster shots by appointment only, and we are committed to making getting a booster shot as easy and efficient as possible,” he added.

“I encourage everyone to get their shots,” Essex County Board of County Commissioner President Wayne Richardson said. “If you haven’t gotten them, then it’s time for you to get vaccinated.”

The region is among the areas seeing a spike of COVID-19 cases, officials say. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently bumped Essex County up to the “high” level for coronavirus transmission.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Sign up for Patch email newsletters. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site.