'Deck the Halls, Get Boosted, Tested:' Mendham Twp. Mayor

MENDHAM, NJ — As part of Mendham Township Mayor Sarah Neibart’s weekly message on Monday, she stressed that residents 16 and up who had their last round of Pfizer COVID shots six months ago, should consider a booster during the holiday season.

“As families get ready to gather around the Christmas Tree this week and case counts increase, it is critical that if you are 16 or older and six months out from having received your second shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, 18 or older and six months out from having received your second shot of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, or two months out from having received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, you get a COVID-19 booster,” Neibart wrote.

In Neibart’s message, which was also shared on Facebook and Twitter, she said though many New Jerseyans have been vaccinated, the state’s Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli reported:

• As of Dec. 13, 80 percent of COVID patients in New Jersey hospitals were unvaccinated.
• 20 percent of the COVID positive hospitalized during that timeframe, were vaccinated before and “were likely infected due to decreasing immunity.”

For a list of Morris County vaccination sites for people ages five and older, go to www.morriscountynj.gov/Residents/Health/Coronavirus/Vaccination-Sites

Testing for the virus, Neibart added, is “another critical measure to help our community contain the COVID-19 virus.”

She suggested Mendham Township residents may find the BinaxNOW COVID-19 rapid tests at local pharmacies, as well as online at CVS or Walgreens.

Residents can also qualify for free-at home PCR saliva tests, through the state’s Department of Health and Vault, Neibart said, through a federally-funded program. The tests are shipped out UPS next-day delivery and can be returned with a UPS next day prepaid package, with results available within 48 hours. Public health officials also automatically receive the results, she said.

Neibart recommended Far Hills Pharmacy as another resource for same-day PCR tests.

Click here for Neibart’s full message.

Walk-ins are accepted for Mendham Borough residents ages five and older for COVID tests at the Bernards Township Community Center on 289 South Maple Avenue in Basking Ridge through WELLCARE, on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Hosted by the Bernards Township Health Department, appointments can additionally be made at www.bernardshealth.org at the bottom left of the website under “Calendar.”

Health insurance cards will be needed at the time of the test at the Bernards Township Community Center, as well as a driver’s license.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a local news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.