Hudson County leads the entire state for vaccination rate among 12- to 17-year-olds at 83%, County Executive Thomas A. DeGise said.
Hudson County is also now third in the state in overall one-dose vaccination rate at 87%, trailing only Morris and Somerset counties.
These numbers will go far in ensuring the safety of students, teachers and staff as the school year and classes are once again held in person, allowing parents to return to work and the region’s economy to continue its recovery, according to DeGise.
“Ensuring that our kids can go back to school safely has been one of our highest priorities and our team has worked tirelessly since 12- to 17-year-olds became eligible for the vaccine to reach this point,” DeGise said. “A great deal of the credit goes to our amazing team at the Hudson County Vaccine Task Force, and to school administrators, parents and local health officials who have been so dedicated to making sure that we’re able to vaccinate as many young people as possible and keep our communities safe.”
In his daily COVID-19 briefing Wednesday, Sept. 29, Gov. Philip D. Murphy cited the work Hudson County has done to get so many young people vaccinated. The county vaccine task force has made a point to partner closely with schools in their efforts to increase vaccination rates among teenagers, working with superintendents, and coordinating vaccination clinics at several schools as part of the “Vax to School” campaign, the county executive says.
“I am so proud of our team and of all of Hudson County’s residents,” Carrie Nawrocki, the executive director of the Hudson Regional Health Commission, said. “We have been relentless in our work to ensure that everyone has access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines and that work is certainly paying off. I also want to give special thanks to all of the parents in Hudson County who have stepped up and made sure that their children are vaccinated in time for the start of the school year.”
The Hudson County Vaccine Distribution Center in South Kearny continues to offer free vaccines and booster shots to those eligible, with no appointment necessary. DeGise urges anyone who has yet to get their vaccine to do so.
More information about the center’s hours may be found at www.hudsoncovidvax.org.
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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.