The Board of Commissioners, in partnership with Cooper University Health Care and the Rutgers-Camden School of Nursing, will begin to administer the COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old today. The Camden County Health Hub, located on the Camden County College campus in Blackwood, will hold the first appointments to give the Pfizer vaccine. The Commissioners will extend the operating hours of the Health Hub for the new age cohort today and tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“This is another important tool for our families to use to stop the spread of this virus in our community,” Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. said. “The advent and approval of the Pfizer vaccine may be one of the most important developments in our continuing fight against this insidious disease and will get us one step closer to a post-pandemic world. It should be noted we continue to see COVID spread in our case counts amongst kids, so this new resource should be a game changer.”
Residents who would like schedule their child for a Pfizer vaccine can go to https://www.cooperhealth.org/ or can call (856) 549-0530. Next week, the administration of the vaccine for children and regular Health Hub operational hours will be expanded to Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The expansion will provide the ability to add hundreds of new appointments throughout the day.
“The CDC and the New Jersey Department of Health are recommending the Pfizer vaccine for younger children, which clinical trials have shown to be effective to prevent severe infection, and we are happy to be able to provide the vaccine to protect families and, hopefully, bring this pandemic to an end,” said Anthony J. Mazzarelli, MD, JD, MBE, co-CEO of Cooper University Health Care.
Pfizer is currently the only approved vaccine for children under the age of 18. The Camden County Health Hub continues to provide all brands of the COVID-19 vaccine as well as third doses and boosters for eligible residents over the age of 18. Individuals can register for an appointment at www.CamdenCountyVaccine.com. Vaccinations and COVID testing are distributed by appointment only.
The Camden County Health Hub has been constructed in two phases. The first phase, that opened on Oct. 14, is administering first and second doses of Moderna, Pfizer and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines. It also includes booster doses for all three vaccines for eligible members of the population and third doses of Moderna and Pfizer. Phase two will now encompass a pediatric component as we continue to fill the needs of the community as we head into the winter months.
