VIRUS UPDATES: STATE VAX TOTAL TOPS 6M

Governor Phil Murphy thanked VNA healthcare providers during a tour of the Red Bank YMCA Friday. (Photo by  John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

hot topic red bank nj

By JOHN T. WARD

New Jersey’s COVID-19 vaccine program has now administered more than 6 million doses since it began December 15, Governor Phil Murphy said Monday.Hospitalizations in Monmouth County have declined again in the past two weeks. Below, cumulative cases in Red Bank, Fair Haven and Little Silver. (redbankgreen chart from Monmouth County data. Click to enlarge.)

• As of Monday morning, 2,507,736 New Jersey residents were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, and another 3.8 million have received the first dose of a two-shot regimen, Murphy said at a briefing.

The state is now more than halfway to its goal of inoculating 4.7 million by the end of June, he said.

“For my tastes, at least, it’s too early to declare victory” against the pandemic, Murphy said. But with data on new hospitalizations, ventilator usage and other indicators combined with vaccination totals and warming weather, “that’s all cause for quiet, cautious optimism,” he said.

• The Visiting Nurse Association Health Group has administered 62,000 doses in its coverage area since it began administering shots January 4, according to organization chief executive officer Chris Rinn.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” Rinn told redbankgreen after he led Murphy on a tour of the vaccination center at the Red Bank YMCA Friday afternoon. “When we first started here, we didn’t know what was going to happen.” He credited YMCA president and CEO Laurie Goganzer with “immediately” offering up the facility as a distribution point, expanding on its role since May as a COVID-19 testing facility.

Among the 13,000 doses the VNA has administered at the Y were inoculations for 600 borough seniors who got their shots under a program coordinated by the borough Senior Center, according to director Jackie Reynolds.

The VNA total also includes 4,000 vaccinated teachers from across Monmouth County, Rinn said.

• Monday marked the start of vaccine eligibility for all New Jersey residents aged 16 and up.

• The state’s confirmed COVID-19 death toll stood at 22,569 Monday, with another 2,592 fatalities classified as “probable” results of the pandemic, according to the state Health Department. Among the confirmed victims were 1,412 residents of Monmouth County, where 137 more death remained listed as probable.

• With 164 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases reported Monday, the county has now had 65,599.

• County officials reported these cumulative cases by town as of Monday:

April 18 April 19
Aberdeen 1852 1860
Allenhurst 69 69
Allentown 128 128
Asbury Park 1671 1673
Atlantic Highlands 327 329
Avon-by-the-Sea 191 191
Belmar 535 538
Bradley Beach 362 363
Brielle 564 564
Colts Neck 985 985
Deal 269 269
Eatontown 1630 1638
Englishtown 226 227
Fair Haven 482 483
Farmingdale 155 155
Freehold Borough 1568 1571
Freehold Twp 3491 3504
Hazlet 2034 2039
Highlands 354 356
Holmdel 1591 1594
Howell 5372 5380
Interlaken 81 81
Keansburg 1172 1179
Keyport 688 690
Lake Como 169 169
Little Silver 593 593
Loch Arbour 24 24
Long Branch 4223 4237
Manalapan 3980 3983
Manasquan 573 573
Marlboro 3439 3448
Matawan 1082 1089
Middletown 6171 6190
Millstone 900 905
Monmouth Beach 330 331
Neptune City 499 502
Neptune Twp 3336 3348
Ocean 3076 3081
Oceanport 629 630
Red Bank 1699 1702
Roosevelt 55 55
Rumson 660 659
Sea Bright 138 139
Sea Girt 162 163
Shrewsbury 517 517
Shrewsbury Twp 108 109
Spring Lake 240 240
Spring Lake Hts 386 387
Tinton Falls 1761 1767
Union Beach 591 593
Upper Freehold 538 539
Wall 2573 2574
West Long Branch 1128 1129

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