A total of 155 people received their second dose of the
coronavirus Saturday at Essex County College.
It has been 28 days since the first health care workers
received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine at the site, and they now
received their final shot.
“I took the vaccine for multiple purposes,” says Essex
County Correctional Facility Medical Director Lionel Anicett. “One to protect
myself, but frankly I took it to demonstrate to my team and to my patients that
I believe in the science that is behind this.”
Essex County has received 10,000 doses of the second shot
to be administered at five county locations.
The supply has not been able to keep up with the demand as
many residents are criticizing the slow rollout.
Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo says they receive
and distribute 9,000 doses of the vaccine weekly.
He believes they could vaccinate as many as 30,000 doses a
week if the supply was available from the federal government.
“If that means extending hours and that means going 24/7,
that’s the emergency that we’re in and we are going to do it,” DiVincenzo says.
The Garden State has administered 500,000 vaccines so far.
More than 25,000 people have died from the virus in Essex County.
The first two reported cases of a COVID variant from the United Kingdom were reported in New Jersey on Friday.
The site is open until 6 p.m. Essex County vaccinations are done by appointment only.