Community Influencers Encourage COVID-19 Vaccine In Camden County

CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ — Camden County is working with community influencers to increase the COVID-19 vaccination rate across the county as the delta variant spurs an increase in cases, officials announced.

Camden High School basketball standout, DJ Wagner, his coach and former NBA player, Rick Brunson, and teammate, Cian Medley, all recently participated in a new public service announcement in partnership with the Camden County Board of Commissioners.

The message is clear from this group to the public, “this is your shot - make it count.” Right now, getting every municipality to 70 percent vaccinated and beyond is the objective for the county health department.

“Getting these individuals to step up and lend their voices to this campaign was imperative for us to convince our neighbors that the vaccine is the right decision. Rick, Cian and DJ know how important it is to protect their friends, family and community and I want to thank them for their advocacy on this issue,” Camden County Commissioner Al Dyer said. “Furthermore, these kids are role models in the city and beyond its borders for so many people and hoop heads throughout the state. We know the peer to peer message is impactful with other kids and families to make their shot count.”

Camden City Mayor Vic Carstarphen is a former basketball coach at Camden High School, and he spoke about the need to increase vaccination rates.

"I’ve been clear about my goal to get at least 70 percent of our city vaccinated and to cover every square inch of Camden to do it," Carstarphen said. "I want to thank Rick and the kids at Camden High for stepping up to the plate and assisting this effort. Lord knows, we all want to see these kids on the court this year playing the best high school teams in the nation inside the brand-new Camden High School gym. This special team needs all of us to play a role and get the shot, so they can have a historic season, and we can be there in person to see it."

“I can’t say enough about our scholar athletes and Coach participating in this vital effort,” Camden City School District Superintendent Katrina McCombs said. “None of us want to be back in remote learning. We want to be back in the classroom with our teachers, friends and teammates. Getting vaccinated is the only way we can adequately preserve the things we love to do.”

Health officials also spoke about the need to increase vaccination rates.

“Since the first vaccines were available last December, our focus has been on getting individuals vaccinated by separating fact from fiction, providing education, and making the vaccine readily available,” Cooper University Health Care co-CEO Kevin Odowd said. “We commend superstar DJ Wagner for joining this effort and encouraging people to protect themselves by getting vaccinated, and we praise our partners for working with us to give residents the chance to receive the vaccine right at home.”

“The Delta variant is causing COVID-19 infections to rise, we want to make it as easy as possible for Camden residents to get the vaccine quickly to reduce the number of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths due to COVID-19,” Cooper University Health Care co-CEO Dr. Anthony Mazzarelli said. “We know the vaccine is very effective, so we’re going door-to-door with our partners to provide trustworthy information as well as an opportunity for residents to get the vaccine and DJ Wagner’s encouragement to his fellow residents will be helpful during this critical time.”

Rep. Donald Norcross (D-Camden/Burlington/Gloucester) spoke about why it’s vital to get the shot.

“It is up to each of us to do our part and get vaccinated so that we can keep ourselves, our loved ones and our communities safe from COVID,” Norcross said. “I applaud these local stars on their work to encourage their peers to get vaccinated and using their voices to share the message that the vaccine is safe, effective and free. In order to crush COVID, we must all roll up our sleeves and allow the vaccine to do its job by saving lives and livelihoods.”