Murphy Again Calls on Feds for More Vaccine Doses

By Jim Pytell, Managing Editor On Jan 19, 2021

So far, there have been 388,160 COVID-19 vaccinations administered in New Jersey, with Gov. Phil Murphy adding that the state has “significantly improved” its overall standing in relation to other states in both total vaccinations and vaccinations per capita.

There are a total of four vaccine mega-sites open across the state in Morris, Burlington, Gloucester and Middlesex counties, as well as numerous county-run and community-based sites – 130 of which can be found at covid19.nj.gov/vaccine. Murphy said that two more mega-sites in the Meadowlands and Atlantic City are close to opening, but still lack the required amount of doses.

Despite the progress in administering vaccinations, the overwhelming demand is significantly outpacing supply, and Murphy said that the federal government needs to step up and provide more doses.

“The expectations were for significantly more doses of vaccines to come to New Jersey,” Murphy said. “With the incoming Biden-administration taking office tomorrow, we are hopeful that we will be able to start ramping up our in-state capabilities to meet what we know is a tremendous demand.”

Officials have said that New Jersey has the capacity to administer 470,000 vaccine doses per week, though the state is currently receiving just 100,000 doses per week from the federal government.

Additionally, a federal vaccination program comprised of pharmacy partners CVS and Walgreens continues to move through the state providing vaccinations to some of the highest risk populations.

In the program, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is partnered with CVS, Walgreens, and Managed Health Care Associates, Inc. offering on-site COVID-19 vaccination services for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

“They are working through their appointments, but I have to say they need to punch at a higher weight, especially Walgreens,” Murphy said. “We will continue to work directly with CVS and Walgreens to ensure we get every facility and home eligible under the federal pharmacy program scheduled and that we can get healthcare workers in to deliver these vaccinations.”

He added that last week, nearly 90% of the state’s nursing homes had been scheduled for a vaccination clinic through the program. Additionally,  90% of intellectual and developmental disability centers, 74% of residential care facilities, and 64% of assisted care facilities were also scheduled.

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