Gottheimer working to expand vaccine distribution to underserved NJ communities

NORTH JERSEY — Today, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer applauded the establishment of a Federal Emergency Management Agency Community Vaccination Center in New Jersey, following his formal request to FEMA in late February to create a site to help underserved communities and to begin vaccinating Jersey residents daily.

FEMA is opening the Community Vaccination Site this week in Newark at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, capable of administering 42,000 COVID vaccines a week.

Gottheimer met with Mike Moriarty, the FEMA Regional Vaccine Task Force Lead in February to request vaccination centers and more vaccine distribution support for New Jersey.

Prior to Gottheimer’s request, there was not a FEMA Community Vaccination Center within the State of New Jersey.

“New Jersey has been in the eye of the COVID-19 storm from the very beginning and, tragically, more than 24,000 New Jersey residents have died from this virus,” Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) said. “In February, I met with FEMA to formally request that a mass vaccination site be established in our state with a specific focus on helping our underserved communities. Continuing to expand vaccine distribution is the best way for us to get through this crisis and to recover. With this new Community Vaccination Center, it’s great to see that more vaccines will be distributed equitable to more communities here in the Garden State.”

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