North Bergen is the first municipality in Hudson County, and one of the first in the state, to have some of their municipal frontline responders receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
“This vaccine is one of the most effective vaccines we have on the market right now, next there to Pfizer, the efficacy is up there, upwards of 95 percent,” North Bergen Health Officer Janet Castro, the first employee to receive the Moderna vaccine, said earlier this afternoon at Township Hall.
“So we urge the public to come and absolutely vaccinate: that’s the only way we’re really going to eliminate this virus.”
She continued the township, along with Union City, where she also serves as the health officer, initially received 500 doses of the vaccines for employees such as health department, EMS, and funeral home workers.
Currently, the goal is for the general public to begin getting vaccinated before the end of February, Castro added.
“We’re optimistic that we’ll receive ample supplies and we’ll be able to move from one phase to the other fairly quickly.”
Two North Bergen EMS workers, as well as Freeholder Chair Anthony Vainieri (D-8), who runs the Vainieri Funeral Home on 60th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard, were among those who also received their first vaccine doses today.
Whether it is Moderna or Pfizer, the vaccine requires two doses. In the case of Moderna, the second dose must be administered 28 days after the first one.
The Hackensack Meridian Health Palisades Medical Center, located at 7600 River Road in North Bergen, was the first local hospital to receive vaccinations on December 18th.
