8K Camden County Kids Ages 5 To 11 Vaccinated Against COVID-19

CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ — More than 8,000 Camden County children between the ages of 5 and 11 years old have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine since Nov. 3, officials said on Thursday. This includes 1,229 children in that age group who have been fully vaccinated.

They are among 448,164 residents who have received at least one dose, and 321,559 residents who are fully vaccinated, officials said during a news conference at Camden County College in Gloucester Township Thursday afternoon. Another 83,123 residents have received their booster shot.

Officials continued to stress the importance of vaccinations ahead of the holiday season, and with the flu expected to hit the region hard this year. With very few flu cases reported last year, officials expect to see a surge in flu cases this year. The flu has already made its presence felt at Rowan University this academic year. Read more here: Flu Season Hits Rowan University Early; School Urges Precautions

“When you have a year where there’s very little flu cases, immunity is much lower,” Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Mark Condoluci said. “The fear is the flu will spread more readily, and with the new variant, we could be in for a bad season.”

He said flu symptoms and COVID-19 symptoms are very similar, and that the only way to tell the difference may be to get tested. Condolucci also warned that residents need to reserve judgement about the Omicron variant until more information about it is known.

The first positive case of the new variant, which officials believe may be more transmissible than those that came before it, was identified in California on Wednesday. Read more here: Omicron Variant Hits The U.S.: Is New Jersey Ready?

Condolucci said the best way to protect against both the flu and the coronavirus is to get vaccinated, and residents can get both vaccinations at the same time.

As far as booster shots are concerned, Condolucci acknowledged that residents can mix and match vaccines, but should first consult their doctors. This would help anyone who saw side effects from their first series of doses and would like to try an alternative in hopes they don’t see side effects.

This means that anyone who got one type of the vaccine the first time around, like Pfizer, can get one of the others, either Moderna or Johnson & Johnson, for their booster.

Numbers are up across the board in Camden County, including among cases (115 new cases a day last week); transmission rate (1.12); positivity rate (5.1 percent); and hospitalizations (262). There were nine coronavirus-related deaths in Camden County last week, according to Camden County Commissioner Melinda Kane.

“We did anticipate higher numbers after Thanksgiving,” COVID-19 Data Manager and Epidemiologist Gabrielle Sweeney said.

The leading cause of transmission in Camden County continues to be in-home transmission, followed by transmission in the workplace and social gatherings, Sweeney said.

On Thursday, there were 211 new cases of the coronavirus in the county, bringing the aggregate number of confirmed positive cases in Camden County to 63,074 and 1,363 total fatalities.

Of the 211 new cases, 65 are among patients under 18 years old. The average age of the newly infected is 31 years old.

“This is the highest daily case count we’ve seen in months,” Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. said. “Despite these troubling numbers, we know one thing is certain: getting vaccinated greatly reduces your risk of being hospitalized or dying from COVID-19. The transmission rate in Camden County is on the rise and the best thing you can do is mask up, get vaccinated and get your booster shot. Health officials are now recommending that all adults get a booster shot, regardless of prior health qualifiers. You can make an appointment for your first or second dose or your booster shot at the Camden County Health Hub by visiting www.CamdenCountyVaccine.com.”

More information regarding vaccination rates throughout the county and available on the state’s COVID-19 dashboard at covid19.nj.gov.

The Camden County Health Department is continuing to closely track new cases of COVID-19 and information regarding the prevalence of the Delta variant. New cases are often reassigned to other municipalities over the course of an investigation.

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