3rd Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccine Now Available In Burlington County

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — Third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are now available at four ongoing vaccine clinics in Burlington County for those who are immunocompromised, officials announced on Tuesday.

On Aug. 12, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended the emergency use authorizations for both the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to allow for the use of an additional dose in certain immunocompromised individuals.

The third dose is recommended at least 28 days after a resident has received a second dose. Those who are not immunocompromised are not yet eligible for the third dose, officials said.

Specifically, the FDA named solid organ transplant recipients or those who are diagnosed with conditions that are considered to have an equivalent level of immunocompromise as being eligible for a third dose.

People who are moderately to severely immunocompromised are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 because they are more at risk of serious, prolonged illness and may benefit from an additional COVID-19 dose to make sure they have enough protection against the virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes patients and doctors should decide who needs an extra dose and what the timing of that dose should be. No prescription or doctor's note will be needed. Individuals must attest their need for the third dose.

The Burlington County Health Department continues to administer vaccines four days a week at rotating sites. The clinics run on the following schedule:

• Mondays from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Burlington County Emergency Services Training Center, 53 Academy Drive, Westampton (drive-thru clinic);
• Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Palmyra Community Center, 30 West Broad, Palmyra;
• Wednesdays from noon to 4 p.m. at the Weimann Building, 400 Delanco Road, Edgewater Park;
• Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Bordentown Township Senior Center, 3 Municipal Drive, Bordentown.

Appointments for the clinics can be made online using the online registry at covid19.nj.gov or by calling 1-855-568-0545. Walk-ins without appointments are also welcome.

Walk-ins without appointments are also welcome. All four clinics now offer the two-dose Moderna and Pfizer vaccines and the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Those who receive Moderna or Pfizer will be informed of their second-dose date.

The Burlington County Health Department and Virtua Health are also teaming up to bring the COVID-19 vaccine to traditionally underserved communities, officials announced Tuesday morning.

From Aug. 17 through Sept. 2, Burlington County officials will accompany Virtua’s fleet of mobile units – its Mobile Grocery Store, Farmers Market, and Pediatric Services Unit – to administer vaccines to anyone interested and eligible, officials said.

“Our focus is truly local, and each newly vaccinated person is a small victory in our ongoing effort to stop COVID-19,” Burlington County Health Director Dr. Herb Conaway said. “With the mega-site, we asked the community to come to us. Now, with this campaign, we are teaming with Virtua again to go out directly into the community.”

They will be in the following locations at the following times:

• Virtua’s Eat Well Mobile Grocery Store will be at Sunbury Village, 181 Norcross Lane in Pemberton, on Aug. 17 and 31, 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day;
• Virtua’s Eat Well Mobile Farmers Market will be at the Burlington County Human Services Building, 795 Woodlane Road in Westampton, on Aug. 26 and Sept. 2, 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. each day; and
• Virtua’s Pediatric Mobile Services will be at Life Four Corners Childcare Center, 201 Clarkson Street in Burlington City, from 9 a.m. to noon on Aug. 19.

Both the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) versions of the COVID-19 vaccine will be available when customers visit Virtua’s fleet of community-outreach vehicles. Visitors can also shop at the Mobile Grocery Store and Farmers Market before or after being vaccinated. Any vaccine recipient under 18 years old will need consent from a parent or guardian.

Vaccine recipients do not need an appointment. Although recipients are encouraged to bring identification and proof of health insurance, if possible, neither are required and no one will be turned away.

“Our goal is to provide as many people as possible with the potentially life-saving protection of vaccines. We promise to make it a simple, straightforward experience,” Virtua Pediatric Mobile Services Director Maria Emerson said.

Virtua and Burlington County previously partnered with the State of New Jersey and New Jersey National Guard to operate the Burlington County COVID-19 Vaccine Mega-Site at the Moorestown Mall. More than 390,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered at the Moorestown Mall site between December 2020 and the site’s closing in late July. Read more here: COVID-19 Vaccine Site At Moorestown Mall To Close Friday

Also, during the month of August, the Burlington County Health Department is teaming with several area school districts and towns to hold pop-up clinics with Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines for children 12 and up and adults who still need to be vaccinated. Those clinics are also listed on the state’s online vaccine finder and registry.

“No matter who you are, no matter where you live, chances are you are only a mile or so away from a vaccine location,” Virtua Health Vice President of Community-based Services Debra Moran said. “More than 4 billion vaccine doses have been administered globally, with millions of new doses being administered each day. Clearly, these vaccines are safe.”

“I encourage everyone to get on the right side of history,” Conaway said. “Let’s stand together against a virus that has taken so much from all of us.”

For more information about COVID-19 vaccination, visit virtua.org/vaccine or covid19.nj.gov.