By Sunayana Prabhu
LINCROFT – The COVID-19 pandemic seems to be entering a new phase and with cases declining, demand for vaccines has waned, prompting many vaccination sites across the county to close.
The Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners announced March 16 that its COVID-19 vaccine site at Brookdale Community College, which had been open since vaccines became available for many residents two years ago, will close March 28. Currently, 93% of New Jersey residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine; 78% are fully vaccinated and 39% have received a booster.
On Jan. 22, 2021, at a time when the pandemic hit its peak and both vaccines and vaccination appointments were difficult to find, the county partnered with Monmouth Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, and Brookdale Community College to provide a vaccination site at the school’s Robert J. Collins Arena.
The partnership between Brookdale and Monmouth Medical Center “helped the County provide a large-scale COVID-19 vaccine site to our residents during a time when there was a significant demand for access to the vaccine,” said Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone in a release. “Thankfully, residents now have a variety of ways to access the vaccine, if they would like to receive it, including through the Monmouth County Health Department (MCHD)” in Freehold.
The site at Brookdale stocked thousands of vaccines to administer shots daily at the peak of the pandemic, then scaled down its operations to weekly as demand fell. Vaccines are now readily available at neighborhood pharmacies and demand has eased with the fall in COVID cases.
But does this mean the pandemic is nearing its end? According to coronavirus trackers, the pandemic has retreated significantly, but still affects thousands each day and surges could strike again if precautions are not taken.
The latest data on the New York Times virus tracker shows an average of 47 cases per day in Monmouth County (607 cases per day in New Jersey) in the last week. Cases statewide have decreased by 21% from two weeks ago. Deaths have decreased by 49%. In the county, cases have dropped by 5% but deaths have risen by 10% over the same time period.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, over 3 million cases have been reported in the state. At least 1 in 246 residents have died from the coronavirus, a total of 36,079 deaths; that number is 1 in 259 or 2,391 deaths in Monmouth County.
January 2022 was the month with the highest average cases, while April 2020 was the month with the highest average deaths in New Jersey.
While COVID case numbers spiked over the course of the last three years, data taken from March of each year shows a welcome decline from the pandemic’s height: there were 4,411 cases as of March 31, 2021; 1,071 cases on March 30, 2022; and 631 cases as of March 19, 2023.
Although cases are low now, vaccines will still be available from Monmouth County Health Department weekly at select locations, according to the county. Weekly vaccination sites run by the MCHD will take place in Asbury Park, Neptune, Freehold and Howell. Visit visitmonmouth.com or download the Monmouth County Health Department App for more information.
The article originally appeared in the March 23 – 29, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
