NorthJersey.com
Every day, Dr. Thomas Ortiz and his colleagues see about 100 mostly working-class Latino patients at Forest Hill Family Health Associates in Newark.
And every day, Ortiz sees 100 missed opportunities to inoculate an underserved community that is getting only about 5% of New Jersey s COVID-19 vaccine doses. Giving us access to the vaccine means it gets to the people who need it the most, Ortiz said. We work where our patients live. They have easy access to us. They know us. They trust us.
Ortiz is among many physicians frustrated that Gov. Phil Murphy s initial vaccine rollout has not included more family providers to inoculate the elderly and other vulnerable groups vying with millions of other New Jerseyans to get the most coveted product in the world.
Primary-care physicians have unparalleled access to older patients with chronic conditions and communities of color. What they don’t have is a supply of COVID-19 vaccines
Family doctors are a trusted gateway to the health care system for scores of New Jersey residents including many with underlying medical conditions but they have so far played a limited role in the state’s efforts to distribute COVID-19 vaccines.
While short supply has hampered the immunization process from the start, physicians in New Jersey and elsewhere said they stand ready to assist as more doses become available. Primary-care doctors are uniquely positioned to help reach vulnerable individuals considered priorities for vaccination, they note, and have a long history of providing flu shots and other inoculations.
NJ considers allowing COVID vaccines at dentists, eye doctors
Published: January 18, 2021
The first COVID-19 vaccination to be administered in New Jersey is prepared at University Hospital. (Pool photo by Kirsten Luce for The New York Times)
TRENTON New Jerseyans could soon get their COVID-19 vaccines at their dentists or eye doctors, under bills endorsed by an Assembly committee.
Two weeks ago, state Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli authorized dentists, paramedics and other health care providers to help administer COVID-19 shots at any vaccine site in the state. The proposed state law may take that a step further to also include flu and HPV vaccines.