Health & Fitness

Extra COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Coming To Wayne

Mayor Christopher Vergano said the township would receive 100 extra doses this week in his latest COVID-19 update.

WAYNE, NJ — Mayor Christopher Vergano reports that COVID-19 cases in the township are going down, while available doses at the township-run vaccine site are going up.

In his latest COVID-19 update Vergano shared that the township's vaccination center at the former Macy's building will receive an additional 100 doses in their next shipment, bringing the total number of available appointments to 400.

Despite the additional doses the Mayor is urging residents who can't get an appointment in Wayne to seek one elsewhere.

Find out what's happening in Waynefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

"My only wish is that we have more vaccines to give out," he said.

More vaccines could be on the way thanks to the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 70,000 doses of which are to be delivered to New Jersey by the end of the week, according to Gov. Phil Murphy.

Find out what's happening in Waynefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

"The importance of having a third highly effective vaccine in our toolkit, especially one that requires only one dose and that can be stored in regular refrigeration, cannot be overstated," Murphy said. "This is a game-changer to get more shots in arms as with everything else we just need the supply."

The township has administered 2,673 first doses along with 1,490 second doses at the Macy's site, according to Vergano.

These new vaccine developments come as the number of residents testing positive for COVID-19 shrink in the township.

As of Feb. 26 514 residents tested positive in February, a marked improvement from January and December, when over 1,100 residents tested positive. Vergano did report four new deaths in February, however.

"Certainly 514 is a lot better than the 1,102 we had last month, but we have to bear in mind that we still did have four deaths this month," Vergano said.

Vergano noted that Wayne, New Jersey and much of the country is coming up on one year of the coronavirus pandemic, a stark reminder that, though hope is on the horizon, New Jersey isn't out of the woods just yet.

Since March of last year, 5,015 residents have tested positive for the coronavirus, Vergano said.

Watch his full update below:

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