Passaic County NJ reaches COVID 70% vaccine goal njherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from njherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In the clinic s first four days of operation, nurses dispensed 1,500 doses of the Moderna vaccine. Up to 2,000 first doses were given in each subsequent week.
But Charlene Gungil, director of the county s Department of Health Services, said officials noticed fewer appointments being made when federal officials paused use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on April 13. That vaccine given in one shot reportedly led to a blood-clotting disorder in six women. The pause was eventually lifted, but by that time, nine more women experienced the side effect. Three have died. Throughout the country, Gungil said, you can see a definite drop in demand since two weeks ago when this happened.
The COVID-19 pandemic has saturated Passaic County like no other county in New Jersey, officials said one year after the area s first cases were identified.
In the 360 days after the pandemic hit on March 14, 2020, the northern county’s per-capita rates of COVID-19 contraction and related deaths were the state’s highest. The positivity rate of more than 9% also ranked near the top in New Jersey.
Countywide, the disease burden remains high, said Charlene Gungil, the county’s health officer. The second of the pandemic s two distinct waves to hit Passaic County has been more pervasive, records show. It has nonetheless been less severe and appears to be waning, she said during a March 9 presentation to county officials.