This message from Chief Justice Stuart Rabner and Acting Administrative Director Glenn A. Grant provides updated information about the New Jersey Department of Health (NJ DOH) COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan, including links to pre-register to receive the vaccine and to learn more about the prioritization of vaccine distribution within our state.
- People who live or work in New Jersey can pre-register for the COVID-19 vaccine at the NJ DOH vaccine website:https://covidvaccine.nj.gov/ The registration process takes less than 15 minutes and includes questions about health insurance (so have your insurance card available).
- Healthcare workers and residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities currently are receiving vaccines as part of the first phase (1A) of distribution. Individuals who are in later categories (1B, 1C, 2) still can pre-register for the vaccine – but are not yet eligible to receive it. Details about where and how to receive the vaccine are available online and will be updated in coming weeks.
- Vaccinations are provided at no cost. General information on the vaccine distribution plan is available in the DOH FAQs. For more information, see the Executive Summary or the complete Plan. Documents are being regularly updated and posted on the vaccination tab of the NJ DOH webpage. For weekly vaccine news updates, you can sign up to receive the NJ DOH “Vax Matters” newsletter (https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/vmsignup.shtml).
Building and sustaining public trust and confidence in the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine is critical to meeting New Jersey’s target of vaccinating at least 4.7 million residents (target: 70% of population) over the next six months. Unfortunately, online and other media sources feature misinformation as well as legitimate facts about vaccination. This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)guide can help in separating vaccine facts from myths.
The CDC and NJ DOH caution that simply getting vaccinated is not enough to protect against the COVID-19 virus. Individuals must continue to follow health precautions, including wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, frequently washing hands, and avoiding others when sick, even after receiving vaccines. More information is available on the CDC website.
450,000 people were able to pre-register for vaccine appointment through a web portal the state launched this week, officials said, despite numerous reports of downtime, error messages and system problems.
- The system is designed to help the state accomplish its plans to inoculate 70% of the population — or some 4.7 million people — against COVID-19, by allowing them to register now so that when their staging group comes up, they are already on the list.
- Murphy touted the portal as a success, and said the high numbers show that there is big demand for the vaccine, countering worries about reluctance to take it.
- Persichilli said state representatives had worked with Microsoft through the day yesterday to scale up the capacity of the system to the increased demand.
- The portal is available at this web location.