COVID-19 Vaccine
As of August 20, 2021, approximately 66% of Morris County and 68% of Madison residents are fully vaccinated. Vaccines are now readily available to residents who are eligible. All three vaccines currently available are safe and effective in preventing severe illness and death when administered as directed, including those caused by the more contagious Delta variant.
On August 12, the FDA and CDC announced that booster doses of the mRNA vaccines by Moderna and Pfizer are appropriate for certain immunocompromised individuals. These individuals are immediately eligible and should contact their healthcare provider for further guidance. In a joint statement the FDA and CDC also indicated that, pending final approval, plans are underway to distribute booster doses 8 months after the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. If approved, booster doses for the general public will begin in late September. More details will follow.
On August 23, the FDA provided final approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for those 16 years of age and older. This vaccine will use the market name Comirnaty. Prior Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of Comirnaty remains in place for those 12-15.
“Breakthrough” cases, or a COVID-19 infection in someone who has been fully-vaccinated, remains rare. In NJ (as of July 19th data) 0.13% of fully-vaccinated residents later tested positive for COVID-19. Even fewer required hospitalization (0.004%) or died as a result (0.001%). The current public health concern is a pandemic among the unvaccinated which is the primary driver of current cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
Local vaccination data is available on the NJ COVID-19 Data Dashboard and is updated each Friday.
Who is Eligible to Receive the Vaccine?
Currently all residents age 12+ are eligible to receive a vaccine. As of May 24th only the Pfizer vaccine is approved for children 12-15 years of age.
Need Further Assistance?
How can I get the COVID-19 vaccine if I’m homebound?
If you are unable to leave the home to receive a COVID-19 vaccine you may request an in-home vaccination appointment by completing an online form here. You may also contact the Madison Health Department at 973-593-3079 x1 to request an at home visit.
Dedicated Assistance for Residents 65 & Older:
Senior Residents 65+ can call the dedicated New Jersey Senior COVID-19 Vaccine Hotline between 8:00 A.M. and 8:00 P.M. at 856-249-7007. Agents can assist with:
- Registering for the NJ Vaccine Scheduling System (NJVSS)
- Scheduling appointments at NJVSS sites, including Senior only appointments at Walmart and Shop Rite locations
- Rescheduling Appointments as needed
Avoid Scams:
COVID-19 Vaccines are free to all who live, work or are educated in New Jersey. Some locations may ask for medical insurance information, but it is not required to schedule an appointment or to receive your vaccine.
Never give credit or debit card information, social security number or bank account number to someone calling claiming to be able to make, change or cancel your vaccine appointment.
How Does The Vaccine Work?
Generally, vaccines work by triggering a person's immune system to develop protection against a disease. COVID-19 vaccines help our bodies develop immunity to the virus that causes COVID-19 without us having to get the illness. Different types of vaccines work in different ways to offer protection.
There are three vaccines which are authorized by the FDA to be used in New Jersey
Two are known as messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. One has been developed by Pfizer and the other by Moderna. Unlike many other vaccines, which put a weakened or inactivated germ into our bodies, mRNA vaccines instruct our cells how to make a specific protein—or even just a piece of a protein—that triggers an immune response inside our bodies. That immune response, which produces antibodies, is what protects us from getting infected if the real virus enters our bodies.
Both mRNA vaccines require two doses and have proven to be highly effective in preventing symptomic infection of COVID-19 with efficacy rates in the mid-90% range shortly after the second dose has been administered.
The third vaccine, developed by Johnson & Johnson is a viral vector vaccine and only requires a single dose. Viral vector vaccines use a modified version of a different virus—the vector—to deliver important instructions to our cells. For COVID-19 viral vector vaccines, the vector (not the virus that causes COVID-19, but a different, harmless virus) will enter a cell in our body and then use the cell's machinery to produce a harmless piece of the virus that causes COVID-19. This piece is known as a spike protein and it is only found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Learn more about COVID-19 Vaccines.
Is the Vaccine Safe?
COVID-19 vaccines that are authorized for use have gone through clinical trials involving tens of thousands of participants to determine their safety and efficacy. The FDA also has been monitoring patient outcomes on an ongoing basis.
The known and potential benefits of approved vaccines outweigh the known and potential harms of becoming infected with COVID-19. All approved vaccines have been shown to be safe and effective as determined by data from the manufacturers and findings from clinical trials.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for these COVID-19 vaccines:
- Pfizer for children ages 12-15 (Comirnaty)
- Moderna for adults 18 and older
- Johnson and Johnson for adults 18 and older (Jansen)
In addition the FDA has granted full approval of:
- Pfizer’s Vaccine for teens and adults ages 16 and older (Comirnaty)