Herd Immunity In Sight As 124K Somerset County Locals Vaccinated

SOMERSET COUNTY, NJ — Each month Somerset County is approaching COVID-19 herd immunity as more and more residents are getting vaccinated.

As of April 30, the county has provided more than 291,000 COVID-19 doses. Of those residents, more than 124,000 residents, or 46.8 percent of all adults, are fully vaccinated — meaning they have received both doses or the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot making them fully protected.

Additionally, more than 176,000 county residents, or 69.8 percent, have received their first dose.

Somerset County is on track to hit its goal of 70 percent of COVID herd immunity, said Spokesman Nathan Rudy.

Dr. Namitha Reddy, the Director of the Somerset County Department of Health (SCDOH) and leader of the county's COVID-19 response said the goal is to have 70 percent of Somerset County vaccinated by the summer with hopes of getting closer to 90 percent.

"This is going in the direction we want it to go but we want to continue to encourage everyone to get vaccinated," said Rudy. "The more people who get vaccinated the more we will be able to get back to a normal life."

As vaccines become more readily available, Somerset County has begun walk-up mobile vaccine clinics. A clinic was held in Bound Brook on Wednesday and another in North Plainfield on Thursday.

Rudy noted that the county is expected to see an increase in vaccine dosages which will, in turn, allow for more appointments and clinics five days a week. More information on that is expected to be released in the near future.

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