COVID vaccine appointments canceled by winter storm have been postponed, NJ officials say



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After winter delayed shipments of the coronavirus vaccine, New Jersey began receiving its arrears, state officials said Monday.

The six mega-sites received some of the overdue Pfizer vaccines on Saturday, Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said at the state’s latest COVID-19 briefing in Trenton. The state expects the additional backlog of Pfizer shots to be delivered on Monday.

The state is still waiting to know when the Pfizer vaccine award this week will be delivered, she said.

Regarding the Moderna vaccine, Persichilli said most sites will receive deliveries on Monday.

“Half of the vaccination sites are also due today to receive the allocation of the first doses of Moderna this week,” she said.

“We know that these shipping delays have caused some appointments to be postponed,” Persichilli said. “The scarcity of vaccines is a national problem and the delayed shipments have also been felt across the country. We continue to ask for your patience. “

She said all sites will “work hard” to ensure that anyone who had a canceled appointment will be rescheduled, noting that federal vaccine allocations will increase in the coming weeks.

Persichilli said the state was making progress in vaccinating its “most vulnerable populations”.

Thirty-three percent of people aged 80 and over received at least one dose of the vaccine, she said, and 13% of them received both doses. People in this age group account for 47% of deaths from the virus, she said.

Among people aged 65 to 79, 33% received at least one dose of the vaccine, Persichilli said.

Persichilli also addressed ongoing issues with the call center, saying there is “no specific date” on when agents can start scheduling appointments for people.

“We still have system problems. They are in the works, ”she said, noting that a system update late last week“ went well ”.

Governor Phil Murphy also called the update a success.

“We had a successful chapter with the supplier at the end of last week. It has been a vibrant and inspiring reality, ”he said. “Hopefully this chapter at the end of last week bodes well for more and better chapters.”

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Karin Price Mueller can be contacted at [email protected].

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