Passes to state parks, free beer and shots. The ways N.J. is encouraging people to get vaccinated. – NJ.com

New Jersey officials have announced new incentives to encourage coronavirus vaccinations as shots remain widely available but the number of people seeking them continues to fall.

As part of Operation Jersey Summer, the state Department of Environmental Protection will offer a State Parks Vax Pass — which allows free access to all state parks from May 27 to Dec. 31 — to New Jersey residents who have received at least one dose of the vaccine by July 4, Gov. Phil Murphy announced on Wednesday.

He also announced that any New Jersey resident 21 and older who gets their first vaccine dose in the month of May can receive a free glass of wine at nine participating New Jersey vineyards.

Additionally, residents who have received at least one dose of the vaccine can enter to win dinner with one guest and both Gov. Phil Murphy and First Lady of New Jersey Tammy Murphy at Drumthwacket in Princeton or Island Beach State Park.

State officials also launched a “shot and beer” program earlier this month, through which anyone 21 and older who gets their first shot in May can take their vaccination card to one of the 34 participating breweries to receive a free beer.

Despite these incentives to become inoculated, both vaccinated and unvaccinated people no longer have to wear masks while outdoors with a few exceptions.

Murphy is expected to announce on Monday that New Jersey will follow updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and lift its indoor mask mandate for fully vaccinated people. This action follows state officials’ decision to eliminate most fixed, percentage-based indoor capacity limits on restaurants, stores and other businesses while also removing all outdoor gathering capacity limitations beginning this past Wednesday.

Those seeking to schedule vaccine appointments must contact the counties, municipalities, healthcare systems, pharmacies and other entities that are distributing the vaccine, as New Jersey does not offer a streamlined vaccine appointment system.

However, many vaccine sites have started accepting people without an appointment, including all six of New Jersey’s coronavirus vaccine mega-sites as well as healthcare providers and pharmacies across the state.

Individuals can register for the vaccine using 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.

Additionally, there is a senior hotline individuals ages 65 and older can call to receive vaccination scheduling support: 856-249-7007.

New Jersey has also established an online system that aggregates information from across multiple scheduling platforms, multiple times an hour, to help people find and schedule available vaccine appointments.

However, residents can turn to a number of online resources beyond what’s offered by the state. Appointment resources available to individuals across the country 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.

People 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.

Hundreds of vaccination opportunities are currently available across the state at county and municipal clinics, healthcare offices, pharmacies, and more. They are broken down by county 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.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

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