Health & Fitness

Over 9,000 Residents Have Been Vaccinated In Wayne: Mayor Vergano

A rise in the number of available doses have allowed Wayne officials to expand their vaccination efforts. It's paying off, the mayor said.

WAYNE, NJ — The vaccination clinic at the old Macy's in Wayne's Preakness Shopping Center has been the location where over 9,000 residents of the township and Pompton Lakes have been vaccinated, according to Mayor Christopher Vergano.

That number has been able to steadily climb in recent weeks thanks to larger shipments of vaccine doses, including 1,000 last week, and 850 this week.

"You'll be very proud of the community if you have the opportunity to go there," Vergano said.

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

Recently, the township has been able to expand their vaccination efforts to reach the homebound, reserving their share of Johnson & Johnson vaccines for those residents. Fifty doses were available this week, Vergano said.

Township officials have yet to respond to questions about what would happen this week now that New Jersey has officially put a pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

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

"Out of an abundance of caution and following the guidance of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the New Jersey Department of Health this morning paused the administration of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine across all vaccination sites in the state," said Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli.

"All New Jersey vaccination sites have been told to cancel or put on hold appointments for the J&J vaccine until further notice. For individuals scheduled to receive the J&J vaccine, the Department will work with all vaccination sites to make arrangements for the administration of an alternative two-dose vaccine. We will work with all sites, as needed, to reschedule vaccination appointments."

The FDA reported that, as of Monday, more than 6.8 million doses of New Brunswick-based company's vaccine have been administered in the U.S. However, the CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the vaccine. Read more: NJ Pharmacies To Stop Using Johnson & Johnson Vaccine

Vergano reported an additional 130 cases of the coronavirus in the township as of April 6 during a Saturday video update. One person has died in April, bringing the total numbers of deaths to 210, and cases to 6,034.

Watch his full video update below:

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