Somerset County Government: 71 Percent Of Somerset County Residents 12 Years And Older Are Fully Vaccinated Against COVID

Press release from the Somerset County Government:

07/01/2021 12:09 PM

SOMERVILLE, NJ – 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. That equates to 71 percent of all residents 12 years and older, and more than 76 percent of all adult residents.

“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. “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.”

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 4-5:30 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 can find all scheduled Somerset County DoH vaccine clinics at http://www.co.somerset.nj.us/vaxclinics.

According to recent U.S. Census numbers, Somerset County has 282,443 residents aged 12 and older, all of whom are eligible to be vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, while those 18 and older can be vaccinated with the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The current number of fully vaccinated residents reported by NJDoH is 201,783, or 71.4 percent of all Somerset County residents eligible for vaccination against COVID-19.

“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.”

In January, the Somerset County Department of Health (SCDoH) began administering it’s Moderna COVID vaccination allocation at an innovative drive through clinic at Raritan Valley Community College. In February when it became clear that older residents were having difficulty obtaining appointments, the County implemented a Senior Citizen Waiting List that residents could join with a simple phone call. This list was used to make appointments at clinics in senior centers, co-housing communities, and at pop-up-clinics throughout the county to ensure they were close to where seniors live. 

In late March Somerset County was among the top 3 counties with regard to the percentage of residents vaccinated, but certain communities were falling behind. To address the disparities, the SCD0H began specifically targeting those communities with pop up clinics in public spaces such as the Bound Brook Train Station, North Plainfield Fire House, Manville VFW, and Somerville’s Division Street. This has helped to raise the percentages in these communities, and all communities but one has surpassed 60 percent vaccination rates among adults.

Somerset County has also partnered with local school districts to provide vaccination clinics for students 12 years and older, and has been vaccinating teens at the Wellness Center in Bridgewater. This partnership with school districts, the first in New Jersey, helped to increase the percentage of teenagers vaccinated in preparation for next fall. A number of districts have requested additional clinics in late summer and as the school year starts to help prevent outbreaks as schools open in the fall.

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This press release was produced by the Somerset County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.