As of Jan. 14, 2021, the following groups are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
- Paid or unpaid persons working or volunteering in a healthcare setting
- Residents of long-term care facilities and other congregate settings
- Frontline first responders
- Persons aged 65 or older
- Persons aged 16 to 64 who have at least one chronic medical condition that poses high-risk for severe COVID-19:
- Cancer
- Chronic Kidney Disease
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Down Syndrome
- Heart Conditions (e.g. heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies)
- Immunocompromised (weakened immune system) due to organ transplant (consult with your doctor)
- Obesity (e.g. body mass index of 30kg/m2 or higher)
- Pregnancy (consult with your doctor)
- Sickle cell disease
- Smoking
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
These groups may start making vaccination appointments. More groups will become eligible in the coming weeks.
For a list of open vaccination sites nearest you and register for a COVID-19 vaccine visit covid19.nj.gov/vaccine.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.