N.J. just expanded COVID vaccine eligibility. Here’s how to register for a vaccine in every county. – NJ.com

Monday marked the first of two expansions this month of those who are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Those in groups eligible for the vaccine starting Monday include transportation workers and several other groups who can now schedule shots, though appointments remain hard to get.

Here is the list of those who can schedule a shot in New Jersey starting Monday, as well as those who are already eligible, and those who will become eligible later this month. More information is also available on New Jersey’s COVID-19 portal.

Teachers and daycare workers were recently added to the list of eligible vaccine recipients alongside healthcare professionals, first responders, people over the age of 65, and those with chronic health conditions.

Although tens of thousands more Garden State residents will be able to get the shot throughout this month, there have been reports that ineligible people are likely lying to get the shot earlier. Residents abiding by the honor system and waiting until they’re eligible to become inoculated may get the shot sooner than expected, as Biden announced Thursday evening that all adults must be eligible for the COVID vaccination in all states by May 1.

Accompanying this diversification in eligibility is diversification in the number of federally approved vaccines, as three in total — the Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Janssen vaccines — are now available to the public. Additionally, the list of vaccination sites has grown to include pharmacies across the state like Wegmans, Stop & Shop, CVS, and Rite Aid, the latter two of which are involved in a federal retail pharmacy program with the state.

Walmart and Sam’s Club also announced on Thursday that vaccine appointments are now available at 34 of their stores across the state. On Tuesday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky shared that the agency is exploring a partnership with Dollar General stores for storing and distributing the vaccine — an action that would be of particular benefit to rural towns in the state with limited access to other supermarket chains.

New Jersey also widened its COVID-19 vaccine distribution program last month to include some houses of worship and community centers.

All New Jersey residents can pre-register for the vaccine through the state’s online COVID-19 Vaccine Registration website. The state also offers a vaccine appointment call center, which began scheduling appointments again earlier this week after temporarily suspending this service in February in the wake of reports of people being on hold for hours while trying to get through, as well of others not being able to make appointments at all.

New Jersey does not have a streamlined vaccine appointment system, meaning that counties, municipalities, healthcare systems and other entities take appointments themselves.

Many of these entities provide useful online and over-the-phone resources for people seeking to gain information about scheduling an appointment or assist others who aren’t tech-savvy or don’t have easy access to a computer.

Residents continuing to struggle with scheduling appointments in the face of overwhelming demand are also turning to a number of online resources. 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; and NJ Vaccine Matchmakers, a group of several hundred volunteers that exclusively work to secure vaccine appointments for seniors.

Two Twitter accounts, @nj_vaccine and @C19VaxxUpdates, also post information about vaccine opportunities and appointments on a regular basis.

An appointment is needed at nearly all vaccination sites. Instances in which people have been able to get a shot without scheduling ahead are profoundly rare — not least because even if officials are willing to take down the information of people hoping to receive a shot in place of a no-show appointment, they won’t necessarily contact them.

New Jersey residents fortunate enough to 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.

“Because we have a challenging supply situation, and we don’t have centralized scheduling, it’s of course fine to try to get appointments at different places,” Leslie Kantor, professor for the Rutgers School of Public Health, said. “If you happen to get more than one, then you cancel one.”

Vaccine mega-sites

The Rockaway Townsquare in Morris County, one of the six coronavirus vaccine mega-sites, schedules online appointments with the Atlantic Health System, which also allows individuals to sign up to receive vaccine alerts that are sent to their phone or email address.

At the vaccination mega-site at the Atlantic City Convention Center, appointments are made online through AtlantiCare by creating an account.

Both the Moorestown Mall in Burlington County and the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center in Middlesex County require qualified individuals to first complete a separate online vaccine registration form with Virtua Health and Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health, respectively, after which point they will receive an email or text to schedule their appointment. The Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment Complex vaccination site in Bergen County requires individuals to do the same with Hackensack Meridian Health.

The Rowan College of South Jersey in Gloucester County schedules appointments through registrations made on the statewide website.

County vaccination sites

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, announcing on its website that the county will not be receiving vaccine in the upcoming weeks for new first dose clinics. The county previously operated clinics at the Burlington County Emergency Services Training Center in Westampton.

Appointments in Burlington County can also be made by calling or visiting the websites of CVS pharmacy, Rite Aid, or Boyd’s Pharmacy, contacting the ShopRite pharmacy, calling their 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 urgent care facility in Willingboro or the Riverside Medical Group 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 new appointment platform. Additionally, they can try to make an appointment with the ShopRite pharmacy in either Flemington or Clinton, or the CVS pharmacy in Flemington. 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, where medical centers including Hackensack Meridian Health are contacting residents to schedule appointments, and various Newark Community Health Centers scheduling appointments over the phone.

Beyond ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Rite Aid, and CVS pharmacies and small urgent care facilities, there are also healthcare facilities in Essex County that are administering the vaccine, ranging from Vanguard Medical Group — which is only accepting vaccine appointments for its patients through an online scheduling app — and St. Michael’s Hospital — 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 online.

Warren County residents can 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.

The Zufall Health Center is Dover is also contacting eligible patients to notify them of appointment opportunities.

What to do when there are limited vaccine options

In other counties, vaccine opportunities are vastly more limited. Aside from making appointments with ShopRite pharmacies in Rio Grande or Marmora, the CVS pharmacy in Villas, 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 Cumberland County residents alone can schedule appointments online.

Hoboken in Hudson County has partnered with Riverside Medical Group and the Hoboken University Medical Center to vaccinate residents. Eligible groups need to first fill out an online form, after which point they will be contacted by a staff member to officially schedule an appointment.

How to register to receive the vaccine

Individuals can register to receive a coronavirus vaccine with the state Department of Health online here.

Individuals can 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:

Tell us your COVID-19 vaccination stories, send us a news tip or questions about the vaccination process on our tip form.

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