Fanwood's Chelsea Senior Living Residents Get COVID-19 Vaccines

FANWOOD, NJ — The Chelsea at Fanwood began administering the COVID-19 vaccines to its residents and staff on Thursday morning.

Resident Eileen Marino and employee Lawrence Cirillo were among the first to receive the Pfizer vaccine administered by technicians from Walgreens Pharmacies.

They will receive the second of the two-shot vaccination in three weeks. Walgreens and CVS are administering the vaccine at all Chelsea communities through the months of January and February under Phase 1a of the vaccination program.

The senior living center at 295 South Ave. in Fanwood is the second of the 16 Chelsea Senior Living communities in New Jersey to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The Warren location was the first.

"We've come a very long way since those first weeks of the outbreak last spring," said Roger Bernier, President and Chief Operating Officer of Chelsea Senior Living. "All of our buildings have strict screening, testing, visitation and isolation policies to control the spread of COVID. The vaccinations are a long-awaited and very important part of disease prevention."

As the vaccine is said to prevent illness 95 percent of the time, it does not prevent the spread of the virus itself. Therefore, masking, social distancing and hand washing will continue to be the rule at all 21 Chelsea Senior Living properties well into 2021.

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