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As people scramble for rare nominations for coronavirus vaccines, the top New Jersey health official said on Monday that the state expects to continue receiving its regular 100,000 dose allocation from the federal government during each of the next four weeks after dashing hopes of supplying the national pipeline. was about to ramp up.
State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said people who have already received the first dose of the two-dose vaccine will be able to receive their second injection on time. She noted, however, that the state can’t promise when others can get their first shot, even though Gov. Phil Murphy significantly expanded eligibility last week.
“I can assure that the second doses will be delivered on time,” Persichilli told reporters Monday morning before a vaccination at Old Bridge. “But I cannot guarantee that more and more people will be able to receive their first dose.”
The comments come days after Murphy expanded vaccine eligibility in New Jersey to residents 65 and older, people with chronic health conditions and smokers, following advice from the federal Centers for Disease Control. More than 4 million New Jersey residents are now eligible.
State officials expected to get “many more doses” from a national stockpile starting this week to help supply catch up with demand, based on what federal officials told them, Persichilli said. But “we had to give up our expectations,” she said.
This is a decision by President Donald Trump’s administration that has caused confusion. US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar announced last week that with the CDC suggesting expanded eligibility, the federal government would release doses of vaccine it held in “physical reserve” for second injections. .
But the Washington Post reported on Friday that the national stock was already depleted, with the administration taking second doses straight from the production line. Democratic governors have accused the Trump administration of deceptive states.
Officials pointed out that New Jersey has the capacity to administer 470,000 doses of the vaccine per week. But with the states dependent on the federal government for their supply, New Jersey has only received about 100,000 doses per week in the past month.
Persichilli said Monday the state “is moving forward” with hopes that New Jersey will continue to receive just 50,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine and 50,000 doses of Moderna per week over the next month.
“We are not hopeful of getting anything more than that,” said the commissioner.
Persichilli stressed on Monday that the state does not have its own stock to increase distribution.
“The doses go directly from the federal government to distribution points,” she says.
“We were hoping for more,” added Persichilli. “But what our distribution points need is predictability in scheduling appointments. So we’re going to stick with 100,000 for the next four weeks, allocate appropriately based on throughput some sites are busier than others, and hope that Biden administration through the manufacturing pipeline finds more doses for that. Because we really need it.
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The federal Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Monday.
Random tweeted on Saturday that the administration’s announcement last week “was that we release the remaining reserved second doses at the established rate – ensuring that the second doses are available at the correct interval – and that in the future we will not No longer would have a reserve of second doses would use the supply chain to deliver second doses to states. “
“The effort by some governors to mislead the American people and distract them from their own distribution failures is unfortunate,” Azar added.
President-elect Joe Biden has vowed to significantly boost vaccinations after he takes office on Wednesday. Senior health officials at Biden said they were confident they could meet their goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in 100 days despite the recent hiccups.
New Jersey has been criticized for its slower deployment than dozens of other states as it continues to grapple with a second wave of the pandemic, according to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At least 348,414 doses of the vaccine had been administered in New Jersey on Sunday, according to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard. Of these, 308,874 was the first of two doses people will receive, while 39,330 were the second.
Officials say the goal is to vaccinate 70% of New Jersey residents – or about 4.7 million people – by the end of May. More than 1.5 million residents have registered for the vaccine.
New Jersey has opened four of its six planned vaccine mega-sites, which will serve as hubs.
Each site currently offers the vaccine only to priority groups, including healthcare professionals, EMS teams, police and firefighters, people 65 years of age and older, people with chronic illnesses, and smokers. State officials have said each site will eventually have the capacity to immunize thousands of people per week once there is sufficient supply.
There are also dozens of smaller vaccination sites across the state, although many currently do not indicate appointment availability due to the scarcity of supply. State officials said more appointments would become available as the state received more doses.
If you are eligible, you can register directly with vaccine suppliers, who are on a list provided by the state’s health ministry, said Donna Leusner, a spokesperson for the department.
These locations include county and municipal sites, individual hospitals, pharmacies, and ShopRite sites.
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Brent Johnson can be reached at [email protected]
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