This week’s COVID-19 news from Trenton continued to center on vaccinations, with the toll-free vaccination hotline going live and all of the mega-sites up and running. The Governor issued an Executive Order permitting both electronic and in-person collection of signatures and submission of petitions for the upcoming June Primary Election. Below is more in-depth information on the vaccine, Executive Order, unemployment, and data.
COVID Data
For January 29, 2021:
- 5,023 new positive cases for a total of 615,202 confirmed cases
- 83 new confirmed deaths for a total of 19,254 confirmed deaths
- The rate of transmission is at 0.91
- 629 cases linked to 131 school outbreaks since August
- 724,371 vaccine doses have been administered, including 610,110 first doses and 110,698 second doses. 55% have been Moderna and 45% Pfizer.
Governor Murphy has noted that if a person received their first vaccination dose through an appointment made on the vaccine portal the second dose appointment was automatically scheduled, and they will receive an email confirmation. However, if a person received their first dose at the Gloucester County mega-site by booking directly with the Gloucester County mega-site, the site would be reaching out directly to the person this week to schedule the second dose.
The hotline 855-568-0545 to assist residents in getting information on the COVID-19 vaccine is live. The phone line is staffed with 250 live agents from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The state continues to encourage the general public to pre-register for eligibility for the vaccine online. Individuals will be permitted to input their personal, contact, health insurance, and demographic information. Those who are immediately eligible based on screening questions will be able to schedule an appointment.
The Governor continues to ask for patience as we await more vaccine doses coming to New Jersey.
Executive Order
Since our last update, Governor Murphy has issued the following COVID-19 related Executive Order:
Executive Order 216 permitting both electronic and in-person collection of signatures and submission of petitions for the upcoming June Primary Election and elections scheduled to occur before then.
Unemployment Information
The Department of Labor announced for the week ending January 23 the initial weekly unemployment claims total 16,618, a 1% decrease from the prior week.
Contact: Lori Buckelew, Assistant Executive Director, lbuckelew@njlm.org, 609-695-3481 x112.