The vaccination effort in New Jersey is moving forward, but at a slower pace than expected, and so far, the state has only given out about a quarter of the shots it has available to the public.

The state has received around 400,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Hospitals such as Robert Wood Johnson have been able to distribute just a part of the doses to their front-line workers, but state leaders believe the numbers will catch up.

Out of the 400,000 doses, only 100,000 have been administered. Gov. Phil Murphy and Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli both think the number is an undercount. They also expect many people will ask for the shot in the coming weeks. Right now, only the phase 1A group can get a shot, which consists of health care workers.

"So, we have a 180,000-dose gap,” says Persichilli. “Some of it is reporting. For example, I know that the psych hospitals are behind in their reporting. The numbers I gave you were sent to me this morning directly by the psych hospitals. So, getting into the system has proven to be logistically part of the problem, but other than that, it's people after the holidays will be lining up."

Out of the initial 400,000 doses, 120,000 were set aside for people living in long-term care facilities. Persichilli expects them to be given out by the end of the month.