Here’s the latest on how to get a COVID vaccine in N.J. (4/30/21) – NJ.com

Nearly three million people in New Jersey have been fully vaccinated for the coronavirus as vaccine appointments continue to open across the state.

All New Jersey residents ages 16 and older are eligible for the vaccine. Individuals ages 16 and 17 must schedule an appointment to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is the only vaccine in the United States approved for ages 16 and older. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are recommended for residents ages 18 and older.

New Jersey has allowed vaccine sites to continue administering the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine after the United States lifted the pause on the vaccine on Friday.

New Jersey stopped the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on April 13 after six women between the ages of 18 and 48 experienced potentially serious blood clots six to 13 days after being vaccinated.

Despite the temporary change in vaccine supply, state officials still believe the state will meet its goal of vaccinating 70% of the state’s eligible population by the end of June.

This belief is supported by the continuing availability of vaccines at various sites across the state. All six of New Jersey’s coronavirus vaccine mega-sites are now offering walk-in appointments, according to a statement released by state officials on Thursday.

Numerous other vaccine sites have started accepting walk-in appointments, including Camden County’s primary vaccine clinic in Blackwood and Inspira Health’s vaccination distribution sites on the Mullica Hill and Vineland medical center campuses.

Atlantic Health, Hackensack Meridian Health and Virtua Health have recently altered their services to allow vaccine seekers to directly schedule their appointments from facilities with available slots — an easier scheduling process than what the healthcare providers offered in the past.

Individuals need to schedule appointments directly with counties, municipalities, healthcare systems, pharmacies and other entities that are distributing the vaccine, as New Jersey does not offer a streamlined vaccine appointment system.

New Jersey encourages residents to register for the vaccine through the state’s online COVID-19 Vaccine Registration website, through which they should be notified when they are eligible and at that point receive information about available appointments in proximity to them. Individuals can also schedule appointments with the state’s vaccine appointment call center by calling 855-568-0545.

To help people find and schedule available vaccine appointments, New Jersey recently established an online system that aggregates information from across multiple scheduling platforms, multiple times an hour, to let people know when appointments are open.

New Jerseyans can also turn to a number of online resources beyond what’s offered by the state. These include New Jersey Covid Vaccine Info, a Facebook group where people can ask questions about, offer guidance for, and even volunteer to help one another with scheduling appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine; NJ Vaccine Matchmakers, a group of several hundred volunteers that exclusively work to secure vaccine appointments for seniors; and Twitter accounts @nj_vaccine and @C19VaxxUpdates, which post information about vaccine opportunities and appointments on a regular basis.

Two young brothers from Mercer County also recently launched njvaxfinder.com, which centralizes vaccine sites from across the state.

There are also online appointment resources available to individuals across the country, including New Jersey residents. These include VaccineFinder.org, a service operated by Boston’s Children’s Hospital in partnership with the CDC, and vaccinespotter.org, a website created by a 34-year-old software engineer from Colorado. Both services help individuals track down available vaccine appointments that are in proximity to them.

New Jersey residents who have booked more than one appointment should cancel the unnecessary one to open slots up for others. Second dose appointments should be scheduled with the same entity where the first dose was received.

The Rockaway Townsquare in Morris County, one of the six coronavirus vaccine mega-sites, schedules online appointments with the Atlantic Health System. Both this healthcare provider and Hackensack Meridian Health, which administers vaccines at the Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment Complex vaccination site in Bergen County, recently updated its services to allow individuals to directly schedule their appointments at the mega-sites.

The Moorestown Mall in Burlington County has also altered its online services to allow individuals to directly schedule an appointment through Virtua Health.

At the vaccination mega-site at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic County, appointments are made online through AtlantiCare by creating an account. The mega-site also recently extended its vaccination hours to 8 p.m. on Monday, May 3, and Monday, May 10.

The Rowan College of South Jersey in Gloucester County continues to schedule appointments through registrations made on the statewide website. The New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center in Middlesex County allows qualified individuals to fill out an online vaccine registration form with Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health.

Beyond vaccine mega-sites, eligible New Jerseyans can pursue a myriad of other avenues to make an appointment to receive the vaccine.

The Department of Health in Burlington County has partnered with the state and Virtua Health to operate the Burlington County mega-site at the Moorestown Mall. Appointments in Burlington County can also be made by calling or visiting the websites of CVS pharmacy, Rite Aid, Albertson’s Pharmacy, or Boyd’s Pharmacy, contacting the local ShopRite pharmacies, creating an account with your local Walmart or Sam’s Club, or by calling or visiting the website of Wegmans, which has a pharmacy in Mount Laurel that is offering vaccinations.

Residents can also call or schedule electronically with Riverside Medical Group in North Willingboro or in Moorestown, make appointments with the Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Brown Mills by pre-registering with the state, or schedule appointments with the Southern Jersey Family Medical Centers in Buttonwood or Burlington City.

Residents of Hunterdon County will be able receive a vaccine at clinics located in Flemington and coordinated by the county’s Department of Health by calling the county or using its online appointment platform. Additionally, they can try to make an appointment with the Bowker’s Pharmacy in Milford, the ShopRite pharmacy in either Flemington or Clinton, or the CVS pharmacy in Flemington or Lambertville. Eligible residents can also schedule an appointment at one of Hunterdon Healthcare’s many clinics by adding their names to the Vaccine Waitlist.

Hunterdon Healthcare also offers a Vaccine Call Center, which they encourage residents to call if they don’t receive a confirmation email after adding themselves to the waitlist.

Dozens of vaccine opportunities are currently found in Essex County. Individuals can request an appointment at the Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair through Hackensack Meridian Health, as well as schedule appointments over the phone at various Newark Community Health Centers.

In addition to ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Rite Aid, CVS and other pharmacies and urgent care facilities, there are also more healthcare facilities in Essex County that are administering the vaccine, ranging from Vanguard Medical Group — which is offering a drive-thru vaccine clinic in Verona— and St. Michael’s Medical Center in Newark — where appointments can be made online.

Essex County is also offering a range of vaccine clinics, for which appointments can be made online.

People who live, work or attend school in Warren County can make an appointment to receive the vaccine at North Warren High School, the Southwest Branch Library, or the Good Will Fire Company Manor online.

Warren County residents can also make appointments for Hunterdon Family Medicine at Riverfield in Washington by using Hunterdon Healthcare’s Vaccine Waitlist, or through the Atlantic Health System for the Hackettstown Medical Center. St. Luke’s in Phillipsburg is requiring all individuals interested in receiving the vaccine to make a MyChart account, through which they can complete the hospital’s brief questionnaire and afterwards be notified to schedule their vaccine.

In addition to various pharmacies, the Zufall Health Center in Dover is also scheduling appointments with eligible patients.

In other counties, vaccine opportunities are vastly more limited. Aside from making appointments with ShopRite pharmacies in Rio Grande or Marmora, various CVS pharmacies in the county, the Rite Aid in Wildwood, or the Walmart in Rio Grande, Cape May County residents can get the shot at its county clinics by pre-registering for the vaccine with the state. The Departments of Health for Middlesex, Somerset, and Mercer counties also coordinate appointments at the state rather than county level.

In Salem County, individuals have the option to make an appointment for vaccination clinics orchestrated by the county’s Department of Health & Human Services. They can also get the shot by contacting the Rite Aid in Pilesgrove, Penns Grove, or Salem; contacting the Walmart in Pennsville; contacting the Albertsons pharmacy in Pennsville; calling the Salem Medical Center; or by making an online appointment with the Southern Jersey Family Medical Center in Salem.

Some New Jersey residents live in municipalities that have created coronavirus vaccine options for their residents. The Health Department of Vineland in Cumberland County is offering vaccine clinics, for which people who live, work, or attend school in Cumberland County can schedule appointments online.

Hoboken in Hudson County has partnered with the Hoboken University Medical Center to vaccinate residents and employees of Hoboken businesses. Those without internet access can call the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) at 201-420-5621 to and leave a message with contact information, and a CERT member will call back to assist with an appointment.

Individuals can also schedule appointments with the state’s vaccine appointment call center by calling 855-568-0545.

The full list of vaccination opportunities in the state, broken down by county, can be found here.

More information about how to get the COVID-19 vaccine in New Jersey can be found here.

To learn more about vaccinations and their distribution in your county, click on your county below:

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Caroline Fassett may be reached at cfassett@njadvancemedia.com.