Middletown Teachers Getting Vaccinated At Bell Works Through VNA

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — This March, the Visiting Nurse Association of New Jersey opened a first-of-its-kind vaccination center at Bell Works, and partnered with area public schools to give schoolteachers priority to get their shots there.

As of Wednesday, approximately 400 teachers and staff from the Middletown school district received their first COVID vaccine dose through the partnership, said superintendent Mary Ellen Walker.

Middletown schools are still on a rotating hybrid schedule, with a full return to classes as the next and final step. The district last put out a request March 5 to hire more lunch aids so they can resume serving lunch in school.

"We are grateful to the Central Jersey Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) for their efforts to assist our staff," said Walker.

To date, more than 90 teachers from Holmdel got their shots at Bell Works so far, with 150 more appointments booked. 180 teachers from Hazlet have been scheduled for shots at Bell Works.

The VNA partnership with schools has already vaccinated 2,100 teachers and staff in less than one month, according to this area's Sen. Declan O'Scanlon (R-13). In fact, O'Scanlon predicted that at the current pace, Monmouth County schools can resume full-time classes by April 1.

Gov. Phil Murphy opened vaccine eligibility to teachers, day care workers and staff on March 15.

As of Wednesday, 1,099,509 people in the state of New Jersey have been fully vaccinated, announced the governor.

For full information about getting a coronavirus vaccine in New Jersey, visit Patch's hub: https://patch.com/new-jersey/a...

Related: Middletown Schools Working On Five-Day Return, Lunch In Schools

Be the first to know what's happening in your town and area. Sign up to get Patch emails and don't miss a minute of local and state news: https://patch.com/subscribe