COVID-19 Vaccine No-Shows Slow Rollout In Camden County

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Don’t forget to cancel your appointment. That’s the message officials at the Camden County Vaccination Center are sending to residents as they get earlier appointments amid the proliferation of COVID-19 vaccines.

When a resident doesn’t cancel and fails to show up for their scheduled appointment, someone else loses out on the chance to get their vaccination earlier than expected, officials said Wednesday morning.

Residents can cancel an existing appointment through the MyCooper platform, or by calling 856-549-0530. Residents can also use the MyCooper platform to check the status of their appointments, which are being moved up electronically, according to Camden County Commissioner Director Cappelli Jr.

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The problem is rooted in the proliferation of COVID-19 vaccines. When the Pfizer vaccine became available to the public, it was the only one. It was followed shortly by the Moderna vaccine, but appointments were still hard to come by. Many appointments were initially scheduled for later this year, including in the fall.

When Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine became available, many residents were able to move their appointment up, conceivably opening their appointment for someone else who needs the vaccine.

That appointment only becomes available if residents cancel, though. As a result, dozens of appointments unfilled when other patients could have been brought in earlier, officials said. There have been about 50-70 no-shows a day, Cappelli said.

“To be clear, no vaccine doses are going to waste, but we are seeing dozens of appointments go unused every day because people don’t show up and are not providing our health department the courtesy to cancel their pending appointment,” Cappelli said. “This lack of thoughtfulness by individuals who are shopping for appointments adds work to a staff that is already giving six days a week to get our community protected from this disease. Think about it, if you made a reservation at a restaurant or an appointment at your doctor’s office you’d call to say your plans had changed. We’re asking for the same common courtesy.”

The site doesn't accept walk-up appointments for safety reasons, and the county has a process for contacting residents when their appointment can be moved up.

"We will look at high-risk individuals first, and call them about moving their appointment up," Camden County Assistant Public Health Coordinator Caryelle Lasher said.

Camden County is approaching a 50 percent rate for residents who have been fully vaccinated, meaning they have received both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one dose of Johnson & Johnson, Cappelli said. About 77,000 residents have been fully vaccinated, and another 142,000 have received the first dose, Cappelli said.

Ensuring everyone gets vaccinated is taking on greater importance, as Camden County reported its seventh consecutive day with at least 100 new cases on Wednesday. With 127 new cases reported on Wednesday, there have now been 42,063 cases of the coronavirus and 1,115 coronavirus-related deaths in Camden County since the pandemic began more than a year ago.

“We have to continue taking steps we know work to keep this disease from affecting more families and taking more lives," Cappelli said. "Wear a mask. Social distance. Keep gatherings small. We are not back to normal yet, and we can’t act like we are. We can beat this pandemic, but we have to keep fighting to get there.”

Camden County runs the vaccination site in the Papiano Gym at the college, 200 College Drive in the Blackwood section of Gloucester Township, in partnership with Cooper University Health Care and Jefferson Health-New Jersey, and currently provides approximately one of every four vaccinations administered throughout the county, officials said.

These vaccinations and those provided by the county's other healthcare partners and pharmacies have provided more than 31 percent of the eligible population with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Camden County, officials said.

The Camden County Vaccination Clinic is currently open to those with appointments only, Monday through Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments are available for eligible residents at camdencountyvaccine.com.

Vaccine eligibility is determined by the state. Those currently eligible for vaccination include:

• Persons aged 65 and older
• Persons aged 16 to 64 years old, who have at least one of the following chronic medical conditions that poses high-risk for severe COVID-19:
• Cancer
• Chronic kidney disease
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Down syndrome
• Heart conditions (including heart failure, coronary artery disease, and cardiomyopathy)
• Obesity (BMI greater than 30)
• Sickle cell disease
• Type-2 diabetes
• Smoking
• Immunocompromised due to organ transplant (talk to your doctor)
• Pregnancy (talk to your doctor)
• Educators, including support staff, in pre-K through 12th grade settings;
• Childcare workers in licensed and registered settings;
• Public and local transportation workers, including bus, taxi, rideshare, and airport employees; NJ TRANSIT workers; and Motor Vehicle Commission staff;
• Public safety workers who are not sworn law enforcement or fire professionals, including probation officers and fire safety inspectors;
• Migrant farmworkers;
• Members of tribal communities; and
• Individuals experiencing homelessness and those living in shelters, including domestic violence shelters.

Additionally, beginning on March 29, frontline essential workers in the following categories are also eligible for vaccination:

• Food production, agriculture, and food distribution;
• Eldercare and support;
• Warehousing and logistics;
• Social services support staff;
• Elections personnel;
• Hospitality;
• Medical supply chain;
• Postal and shipping services;
• Clergy; and,
• Judicial system.

Anyone who is having difficulty scheduling an appointment online or anyone who needs to reschedule their second appointment can email COVID19VaxCenter@camdencounty.com. For more information, call the COVID-19 Vaccination Center Hotline at 856-549-0530.

To keep up with the latest vaccination news, visit Patch's New Jersey COVID-19 Vaccination Information Hub.

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