Somerset County Passes 70 Percent COVID Vaccination Goal

SOMERSET COUNTY, NJ — Somerset County is celebrating after as 71 percent of all residents 12 years and older, and more than 76 percent of all adult residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 well before the July 4 target date.

According to the State of New Jersey Department of Health (NJDoH), 201,783 Somerset County residents have received their full course of COVID-19 vaccinations as of June 30. This is out of the 282,443 residents aged 12 and older, according to recent U.S. Census numbers.

"This is great news for everyone that we have surpassed our initial vaccination goals well before the Independence Day target, and it's a testament to the partnership between the state, county, municipalities, and private vaccine providers that we reached this milestone," said Somerset County Commissioner Director Shanel Y. Robinson.

While this is good news for Somerset County, Robinson reminded residents there is still more work to do. The more people who get vaccinated the faster the county can return to a more normal life.

"We are well on our way to returning to a more normal way of life, but there is still more work to do and many more people to vaccinate in communities that haven’t yet reached the 70 percent goal," said Robinson.

Somerset County will continue offering the Pfizer vaccine for residents 12 years and older at Somerset County facilities on non-holiday Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 4 to 5:30 p.m. for the foreseeable future.

Additionally, the county will be administering J&J and Moderna vaccine at pop-up clinics in communities with lower vaccination rates and at other high-traffic locations to continue increasing the percentage of vaccinated residents well beyond the 70 percent mark.

Residents 12 years and older are eligible to be vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, while those 18 and older can be vaccinated with the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Residents can find all scheduled Somerset County DoH vaccine clinics at co.somerset.nj.us/vaxclinics.

"Somerset County has worked hard to vaccinate its residents, whether at one of our clinics or a pharmacy or other provider, and will continue to do so because the key to ending this pandemic is having high percentages of residents vaccinated," said Dr. Namitha Ready, SCDoH director. "We are transitioning our focus now to communities with lower vaccination rates, students and teenagers, and high-traffic areas to continue raising our vaccination numbers."

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