Mayor Gonnelli and the Town Council place utmost priority on the safety and well-being of our residents. To this end, the Town has opted to organize a COVID-19 Vaccine Point of Distribution (POD) site in Town. This will help vaccinate our town’s population right here in Secaucus. By working to set up a POD, the Town can be a direct receiver of the COVID-19 vaccine, better facilitate the vaccination of our residents and work through the process faster. We feel the decision to operate a local POD will better serve our community.
The Mayor, Town Council, Administration, Health Department, Police Departments and Office of Emergency Management have been working for months to plan, prepare and organize the vaccine efforts. The POD will be activated once the Town receives vaccine supplies. As you may know, there is a limited number of vaccines that can be produced and rolled out so we are uncertain when Secaucus will secure a shipment of vaccine. However, we are fully prepared and ready to have the site operational for our health care personnel, essential personnel and residents whenever the vaccine becomes available to us, which we hope to be middle to late January.
As of now, the Town is awaiting notification on availability of vaccine. We have, through our Health Department, made requests to be a direct receiver of vaccine some time ago. Please be advised that when we do get the vaccine, it will be available in limited amounts. A CDC-guided phased approach will be used to determine what groups will get the vaccine first. A centralized registration system will determine when each individual is eligible to get a vaccine. Once registration is complete, vaccines will be given strictly by appointment only. There will be no walk-ins permitted at the POD site. Under current CDC guidelines, the phases are as follows, in order of priority:
| 1a. |
Health care personnel and long-term facility residents. |
| 1b. |
Frontline essential workers and persons aged 75 years and older. |
| 1c. |
Persons aged 65-74 years, persons aged 18-64 with high risk conditions and essential workers not recommended in Phase 1b. |
| 2. |
All people aged 18 years and older not in Phase 1C. |
Please understand that it will take many months to vaccinate all who wish to receive the vaccine. Therefore, we urge your patience as there will be aspects of this process that are not in our control. For the health and safety of our most vulnerable groups, please refrain from requesting a vaccine if you do not fall into the groups that are scheduled for vaccination. If you know someone who is in a current vaccination phase and may not be aware of our vaccine POD, please share the information with them. However, residents are not required to be vaccinated in our POD and may go wherever the vaccine is available to them.
We will bring you updates on our POD’s schedule, eligibility and more as soon as we are provided with additional details. Stay tuned to our website www.secaucusnj.gov for the latest news. We will also be making Swiftreach announcements via email and phone blasts. If you are not part of the Swiftreach system and would like to receive announcements you may sign up on our website.
In the meantime, please continue to wear your masks, make sure you follow social distancing guidelines and wash your hands often. The pandemic is not behind us yet and we need to continue to follow precautions so we can finally turn the corner with COVID-19.
Stay safe and be well.
