Ocean County Adds COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic Site In Manchester

MANCHESTER, NJ — The Ocean County Health Department has added Manchester Township Elementary School as a COVID-19 vaccination site.

The clinic served staff of the Manchester Township Schools on March 26, and now is serving the general public. Vaccinations at the site are by appointment only on Thursday afternoons and Saturday mornings. For more information, call Ocean County Senior Services at 732-929-2091.

Health department officials have said the county was working to expand its vaccination sites to meet the needs particularly of those in the senior communities, who have been at highest risk of complications from COVID-19.

The addition of Manchester Township Elementary School brings that goal a little closer.

The clinic was a collaboration of the Manchester Schools, the health department, Manchester Township officials and the Manchester Township Education Association.

Manchester school district staff members are volunteering to help out with non-medical tasks at the clinics.

Dan Staples, president of the teachers union, said volunteers signed up in such overwhelming numbers for the first week that most of them had to be rescheduled to a later date.

Manchester staffers were able to get vaccinated in return for their help with the clinic, officials said.

"This is an excellent opportunity for us to give back to the community and provide much needed assistance for the most vulnerable senior population," Manchester Superintendent David Trethaway said. "This truly is a win-win situation. The district was able to work with the Ocean County Board of Health to provide our staff an opportunity to receive the vaccinations as well as establishing a clinic in the district to provide the needed vaccine for our senior population in Manchester and throughout Ocean County."

"We appreciate the efforts of the Ocean County Board of Health in providing our staff with the vaccinations and opening a clinic with easy accessibility for our senior citizens," he said.

"Our entire staff has always risen to the occasion when people needed help and this effort is no exception," Trethaway said.

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