All Teens Can Now Get COVID-19 Vaccine At Moorestown Mega-Site

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Children ages 12 to 15 can begin getting the COVID-19 vaccine at New Jersey’s vaccination mega-site at the Moorestown Mall as of Thursday, according to Virtua Health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 12-15 on Wednesday.

Gov. Phil Murphy said during a news conference Wednesday that teen vaccinations could begin as early as Thursday, with parental approval. Read more here: All NJ Teens Can Get COVID Vaccine With CDC Approval: Gov. Murphy

Virtua Health has already announced that at least one Burlington County youth is set to be immunized on Thursday.

“The expanded eligibility will enable millions of children to be vaccinated, which will help increase overall immunity in the population,” Virtua said in a statement, highlighting the case of 14-year-old Donald Cucuzzella, of Burlington Township. “The move could also help get students back into the classroom, as some parents want to vaccinate their children before resuming in-person schooling.”

Cucuzella, who turned 14 on May 12, has wanted to be vaccinated from the start, and has kept close tabs on the situation, Virtua said. When he learned that the Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine for his age group, hospital officials say he ran outside to tell his mother Holly, who is Burlington County’s Health Officer.

“I want to keep myself, my friends, and my family safe” by getting vaccinated, said Cucuzella, an eighth-grader at Burlington Township Middle School. “I’ve been really nervous about getting sick and getting my family sick. That would make me really sad.”

Both of his parents are vaccinated, and he has been asking when he can get vaccinated, as well. At one point, his mother said he even asked if they could take a road trip to Canada to get vaccinated.

“I miss hanging out with friends, going to their houses, going bowling, getting pizza and watching football together,” Donald Cucuzella said in a release. “I wish I could be in school to see people.”

“He sees every day, through me, what’s going on,” said Holly Cucuzella, who has a doctorate degree in public health and has thoroughly researched the vaccines’ safety and effectiveness. “He knows when the [COVID] numbers go up, that’s not good, and when the numbers go down, that’s better.”

In the meantime, Donald Cucuzella has been attending school virtually since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, and said he’s spent most of his time at home. He hasn’t been inside of his friends’ home in the 14 months since the pandemic began.

He has been playing travel baseball, while masked, this spring, but said he’ll feel safer and more comfortable once he gets vaccinated.

“I’ll be able to do stuff I’ve wanted to do, like go to Six Flags,” he said while encouraging others his age to get vaccinated. “I’d say, ‘Don’t be scared; the vaccine will help you and your family in the long run.’”

Plus, if more people get the shot, “it will help us get to a new normal,” he said. “The whole world could use a big break from this virus if we all get vaccinated.”

Teens can be vaccinated any place the Pfizer vaccine is already given out. On Wednesday, Murphy said he could not comment yet on whether New Jersey will require children and teens to get the coronavirus vaccine to go back to school in September.

The Burlington County Mega-Site is in the former Lord & Taylor’s store at the Moorestown Mall, 400 Route 38 in Moorestown. It is a partnership among the State of New Jersey, the New Jersey Department of Health, the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management, Community Emergency Response Team, Medical Reserve Corps, the New Jersey National Guard, Burlington County, and Virtua Health.

Although walk-ins are being accepted, all residents can visit virtua.org/vaccine to select an appointment date and time, or call 888-VIRTUA-3. Appointments are available seven day a week through April and into May.

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

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