The COVID-19 Vaccine

Inspira Health closed its COVID-19 vaccination pods as of April 30th due to decreasing need. Please use the NJ Vaccine Finder to find vaccination sites with available appointments. Alternatively, NJ residents can call 1-855-568-0545 for vaccine registration assistance.

Young female doctor fighting the virus with a sword and shield, healthcare, the immune system, vaccination — COVID-19 Vaccine 3rd Dose

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that people whose immune systems are moderately to severely compromised receive an additional dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine at least four weeks after an initial two-dose mRnA series.

Frequently Asked Question

Eligibility

All individuals aged 5 and older who live, work, or study in New Jersey are eligible for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

Minors must bring a signed consent form (English, Spanish) or be accompanied by a parent/guardian who is authorized to sign an informed consent for the minor's vaccination.

Vaccines are available to all New Jerseyans, regardless of immigration or insurance status. Learn more on the CDC website.

What you should know:

There is no cost to receive the vaccine. Insurance is not required. However, insurance information will be taken if you have coverage. There is no out-of-pocket expense to you.

Please continue these tried and true safety measures: wear a mask; wash your hands; maintain social distancing, and get vaccinated once available.

While we encourage our community to stay home when you can and continue to take proactive safety measures, please don’t hesitate to seek medical care if you need it. We’re committed to being here for you, whether virtually or in person, to ensure your health, and the health of our community.

The state of NJ lists all vaccination locations. Use the NJ Vaccine Appointment Finder to find vaccination sites with available appointments.

NJ residents can call 1-855-568-0545 for vaccine registration assistance.

COVID-19 Booster Updates

Boosters are now available for Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccines.

Anyone 18 years and older who received two doses of Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months ago is now eligible for a booster.
Anyone 18 years and older who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least 2 months ago is now eligible for a booster.

Virus Icon — COVID-19 Vaccine Updates

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General Vaccine Information

Vaccines currently prevent millions of deaths every year from diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles and influenza. Vaccines work by training and preparing the body’s natural defenses to recognize and fight off the viruses and bacteria they target. If the body is exposed to those disease-causing germs later, the body is immediately ready to destroy them, preventing illness. Vaccines are also critical to the prevention and control of infectious-disease outbreaks.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health institute in the United States under the Department of Health and Human Services. The CDC’s overall responsibility is to address health and safety.

The CDC is focused on vaccine planning, working closely with health departments and partners to prepare for when a vaccine is available, but they do not have a role in developing COVID-19 vaccines. Learn more about the vaccine planning process by visiting Key Things to Know About COVID-19 Vaccines.

In this unprecedented pandemic, vaccine development is time-dependent, and so scientists and funding have come together to move vaccine candidates through the process for preclinical and clinical assessment, including animal and human trials, under the federal government operation known as Operation Warp Speed, which is a partnership among components of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Defense to help develop, make, and distribute millions of vaccine doses for COVID-19 as quickly as possible while ensuring that the vaccines are safe and that they work.

This has enabled researchers to advance into phase 3 clinical trials (testing the vaccine on large groups of people to evaluate safety and effectiveness) in six months instead of the typical two years. It is important to note that the scientists are working both quickly and thoughtfully.

The FDA guidance expects that an authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine would prevent disease or decrease its severity in at least 50 percent of people who are vaccinated. In some cases, COVID-19 vaccines may protect against severe infection, but not necessarily prevent mild or asymptomatic infection. If this is the case, an infected person could still spread the virus. This is why it is expected that even after a vaccine becomes available, people will need to use masks and practice social distancing measures for some time.

The mRNA would not change a person’s DNA. An mRNA vaccine causes cells to make viral proteins, in this case it is making proteins found in the SARS-CoV-2 virus which is the virus that causes COVID-19. When the proteins are made, they are released from the cell and cells from the immune system recognize them as foreign and attack them, creating an immune response. Since mRNA is active only in a cell’s cytoplasm and DNA is located in the nucleus, mRNA vaccines do not operate in the same part of the cell where DNA is located.

The New Jersey Department of Health collaborated with health care partners and immunization stakeholders to submit a vaccine plan to the CDC in mid-October. This plan encompasses suggested priority groups for vaccination, logistics of vaccine storage and handling, health care provider recruitment, tracking and reporting of immunizations, etc.

The state is closely following progress on COVID-19 vaccine trials and potential FDA authorized or approved vaccine(s). The NJDOH will provide guidance to hospitals and health care providers regarding the allocation and administration of vaccine in NJ.

Vaccine Approval/Safety Concerns

Emergency Use Authorization is the legal authority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorize emergency use of an investigational medical product or an unapproved use of an approved medical product to diagnose, treat, or prevent a serious or life-threatening disease. According to the FDA, an EUA is used "to help make medical products available as quickly as possible by allowing unapproved medical products to reach patients in need when there are no adequate, FDA-approved and available alternatives."

When the FDA authorizes emergency use of a medical product, an EUA Fact Sheet for Health Care Providers (in place of a package insert typical of a licensed vaccine) and an EUA Fact Sheet for Recipients (akin to product information for patients or a CDC-provided VIS for a licensed vaccine) must be provided to the health care providers prescribing and/or administering the authorized medical product. The health care providers, in turn, provide the EUA Fact Sheet for Recipients to vaccine recipients or their guardians.

When FDA authorizes a vaccine for use under an EUA, providers and public health entities involved in vaccine administration are legally required to provide the FDA-authorized EUA Fact Sheet for Recipients to individuals receiving vaccine or their guardians, similar to VIS’s that are also required by law for certain licensed vaccines. The EUA Fact Sheet for Recipients, like the VIS, explains the benefits and risks associated with the vaccine. But unlike a VIS, the EUA fact sheet also provides vaccine product-specific information, including the vaccine’s authorized use, dose/dose-series, and known information or experience with the vaccine from clinical trials that support issuance of the EUA by FDA.
Providers can provide the EUA Fact Sheet for Recipients (or VIS if/when the COVID-19 vaccine is licensed) in a variety of ways, including hard copy, online, video, or other electronic means of dissemination.

The FDA applies the same stringent review process to all vaccines regardless of manufacturer. FDA approval or authorization of a vaccine means that the agency has determined, based on substantial evidence and a stringent review process, the vaccine is safe and effective for its intended use. Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines – the first two vaccines that are likely to receive EUA – have both been shown to be at least 94 percent effective and they have the same mechanism of action.

The safety of COVID-19 vaccines is a top priority. Vaccine makers continue to follow strict protocols for monitoring the safety and efficiency of the vaccines, as well as any side effects that vaccine recipients experienced during the clinical trial phase. They have been transparent with the data which shows these vaccines are highly effective in protecting against COVID-19.

Most vaccines only need to reach 50% efficacy for FDA approval. After two doses, the Pfizer vaccine has an efficacy rate of 95% with no serious safety concerns based on clinical trials with more than 43,000 people. The Moderna vaccine has an efficacy rate of 94% with no serious safety concerns. The efficacy rate means that there was at least a 94% reduction in contracting COVID-19 for the clinical trial participants who received the vaccine versus those who received a placebo.

For detailed information, visit Ensuring COVID-19 Vaccine Safety in the US.

As with other vaccines, some people experience side effects consistent with immune responses. It is normal to have some arm soreness at the injection site and some people experience additional side effects such as fatigue, fever, muscle pain, chills, or headache. Taking ibuprofen or acetaminophen (if it is safe for you to do so) before you get the vaccine may help to alleviate the side effects, which typically go away within a day or less. What remains is protection against COVID-19.

In early clinical trials for various COVID-19 vaccines, only non-pregnant adults participated. For this reason, the vaccine will not be available for use in pregnant women when it first becomes available. However, clinical trials continue to expand those recruited to participate. Based on data from the expanded clinical trials, groups recommended to receive the vaccines could change in the future.

Vaccine for Inspira Health Employees and Medical Staff

You will arrive at the scheduled clinic site, check-in to confirm your employee registration form, then you will receive the COVID-19 vaccine. You will be monitored for 15 minutes on-site after receipt of the vaccine and will then be able to schedule the 2nd COVID-19 vaccine dose for 21 days later. After the appointment, you will be provided with a COVID-19 vaccination card and vaccine EUA fact sheet. The appointment will take approximately 30 minutes, including the 15-minute observation period.

Vaccine for Inspira Health Patients

Healthcare workers are being vaccinated by health care facilities to insure vaccine availability and all necessary tracking and documentation. Pharmacy chains such as CVS and Walgreens will be working with the Long Term Care providers to provide vaccinations to staff and residents of those facilities. It is unknown just yet when vaccines will be available to pharmacies for the general public.

Vaccine Storage and Handling

Vaccine Administration

No, informed consent is not a federal requirement. An Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) vaccine recipient fact sheet will be available online, and providers are required to provide those to vaccine recipients prior to vaccine administration.

Minors (under 18 years old) must bring a form of ID that shows their date of birth (i.e. driver’s license/permit, passport, birth certificate, etc.). Additionally, minors must be accompanied by a parent/guardian who is authorized to sign an informed consent for the minor's vaccination.

Staff will be wearing a procedure mask, face and eye protection, gown and gloves. The staff will also perform hand hygiene before and after administering the vaccine. This is the PPE recommended by the CDC and additional guidance will be provided as needed when COVID-19 vaccine is available.

For information on PPE for health care workers, see Using Personal Protective Equipment.

Protection from Vaccine/Efficacy

Yes, you should still be vaccinated. There is not enough information currently available to say if or for how long after infection someone is protected from getting COVID-19 again; this is called natural immunity. Early evidence suggests natural immunity from COVID-19 may not last very long, but more studies are needed to better understand this. Until we have a vaccine available and know more about natural immunity to COVID-19, the CDC cannot comment on whether people who had COVID-19 should get a COVID-19 vaccine. Once a vaccine has been authorized or approved, ACIP will make recommendations to CDC on who should get a COVID-19 vaccine.

COVID-19 Vaccine Enrollment

The New Jersey Immunization Information System (NJIIS), operating since 1997, is the statewide immunization information system (IIS) serving as the official repository of immunizations administered to individuals in the state of New Jersey. NJIIS is a free, confidential, population-based online system that collects and consolidates immunization information to provide an accurate immunization assessment for individuals in the state of New Jersey, as well as assists communities in assessing their immunization coverage and identifying pockets of need. For more information on NJIIS, please visit the New Jersey Immunization Information System.

Yes, the CDC’s provider agreement form will need to be completed in order for a provider to order the COVID-19 vaccine. The COVID-19 Vaccine Enrollment is available for sites currently registered in NJIIS. Providers interested in participating in the COVID-19 vaccination program should complete the CDC COVID-19 Provider Agreement that is available electronically through NJIIS. When you log into NJIIS, the COVID-19 Vaccine Enrollment will be on the landing page.

To assist sites with completing the enrollment and to have technical assistance questions answered, the Vaccine Preventable Disease Program will hold weekly office hours. You can register for office hours on the NJIIS COVID-19 enrollment page.

Yes, vaccine providers will be able to charge an administration fee. However, participating vaccine providers must administer COVID-19 vaccine regardless of the vaccine recipient’s ability to pay COVID-19 vaccine administration fees or coverage status, as stated in the CDC Provider Agreement. Vaccine providers may seek appropriate reimbursement from a program or plan that covers COVID-19 vaccine administration fees for the vaccine recipient. For uninsured patients, the vaccine provider can seek reimbursement for an administration fee from the HRSA Provider Relief Fund.

Data may be entered manually. Once a staff member has completed the COVID-19 training, they will be able to log into NJIIS, with their username and password, to manually enter COVID-19 doses into NJIIS. If you have an Electronic Health Record (EHR) and wish to establish an interface with NJIIS, please complete the Interface Enrollment Request Form. NJIIS can receive immunization data directly from a provider’s office EHR system via HL7 version 2.5.1 standard messaging protocol. The time it takes to establish an interface will vary based on issues with data submissions, errors in formatting of the messages.