N.J. hits 100K coronavirus vaccinations administered. Next group of signups still weeks away. – NJ.com

More than 100,000 people have received a vaccine for the coronavirus in New Jersey since the first doses were administered nearly three weeks ago with efforts expected to ramp up following the holidays, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday.

The current total statewide number of people to receive at least one dose of the vaccine is 101,417, he said. The governor made the announcement the same day health care workers at University Hospital in Newark became the first people in the state to get the second dose of the vaccine.

New Jersey was awarded a little more than 400,000 vaccines in the month of December. Of that, approximately 120,000 doses have been reserved for long-term care facilities and 280,000 doses have been allocated to hospitals and community sites for front-line healthcare workers.

The state was awarded an additional 106,000 for the first week of January, according to the states website. Approximately 53,000 of those doses have been reserved for long-term care facilities with another 53,000 being allocated to hospitals and community sites.

State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said the total vaccinations are likely higher and there have been reporting delays from the sites, particularly at psychiatric facilities, on the shots being delivered.

Some of it is reporting, Persichilli said during the states latest coronavirus briefing in Trenton, noting the gap between available vaccines and the number that have been administered. Getting into the system has proven to logistically part of the problem.

In addition, the vaccination efforts were slowed by the holidays, she said. Some people elected to delay the shot due to potential short-term side-effects.

Murphy said he hopes to have the long-term care vaccinations completed by early February.

The next group of people considered 1B are expected to become eligible for the vaccinations in the coming weeks, though no timeline was available.

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Murphy announced the latest number of people to be vaccinated during his regular COVID-19 briefing in Trenton. As of Wednesday, the last time Murphy gave an update, there had been 62,901 people vaccinated.

Two vaccination mega-sites will open in Morris and Gloucester counties this Friday, Persichilli said. Each will administer 1,000 doses a week for health care workers.

We do not stockpile, Persichilli said.

The federal government sends the doses directly to the (vaccination) sites, she said. There is no stockpiling by the state. The (vaccination) site has to claim it and verify the numbers so its a process.

Health officials on Monday reported 2,292 more cases in the state and another 38 confirmed deaths.

New Jersey has reported 494,317 total PCR (polymerase chain reaction) coronavirus positive tests out of more than 7.8 million tests since the state announced its first case March 4.

Rapid antigen tests have been in use for months, but had not been included in the total positives due to reporting issues. The state reported 822 antigen tests on Monday, bringing the cumulative total of available results to 50,838. The state is listing those as probable cases as the PCR test is considered more reliable.

The state of 9 million residents has now reported 19,244 deaths 17,223 confirmed and 2,021 probable fatalities from complications related to the virus.

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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.

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N.J. hits 100K coronavirus vaccinations administered. Next group of signups still weeks away. - NJ.com