Gloucester County vaccination mega-site reopens to long lines after closing due to lack of supply
Sewell, N.J. - Two of New Jersey's six mega-sites ran out of doses of the coronavirus vaccine on Monday, prompting appointment cancellations and creating confusion.
Gloucester County officials say they cannot schedule second doses for the Rowan College of South Jersey site due to lack of supply.
Bergen County’s mega-site at the old Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford also will be non-operational Tuesday.
It's unclear how many appointments were canceled Monday but it's just another reminder of the vaccine shortages around the country.
Lines formed outside the Rowan College of South Jersey COVID-19 vaccination mega-site Tuesday morning after it closed due to a lack of supply on Monday.
"The department uses an allocation framework to determine vaccination sites' weekly allocation. It's based on a multitude of factors, including the current inventory at the site, throughput at the site, access to all eligible individuals - that is population density - and disease burden, along with equity," New Jersey Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said during a briefing on Monday.
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"Although allocations to each site may vary each week, our goal is to provide as much predictability and steady supply as possible. But, we must continue to balance efficiency with equity in this time of scarcity," Persichilli added.
As the Rowan College of South Jersey site reopened on Tuesday morning, long lines could be seen wrapping around parts of the building as people, both with appointments and without, waited to get inside.
The shortage and cancellations came at a delicate time for the site, as those who were vaccinated when the Rowan College of South Jersey site first opened on Jan. 8 will be due for their second dose of the vaccine later this week.
There are six mega-sites in total -- Morris County, Gloucester County, Atlantic County, Bergen County, Burlington County, and Middlesex County.
The goal is to vaccinate up to 2,400 people per day through the mega-sites, but they are just one part of what the state says will eventually be a network of over 200 vaccination sites.
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