New Jersey Needs to Safely Reopen Schools

Part of Gottheimer’s Initiative for Local Hospitals to Specifically Vaccinate Educators

Above: Gottheimer greets frontline health care workers today at Valley Hospital’s Paramus Vaccination Center.

PARAMUS, NJ — Today, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) visited Valley Hospital’s Paramus Vaccination Center, which is offering a week of vaccine distribution specifically for educators and school staff. Gottheimer brought coffee to the frontline health care workers vaccinating educators today and discussed what more is being done to expand vaccine availability, distribution, and deployment, including the federal investment of $60 billion included in the most recent COVID-19 relief package for additional vaccine deployment and testing. 

Valley Hospital is vaccinating 5,000 educators and school staff this week, including 600 today.

Gottheimer is working with all Fifth District hospitals to dedicate some vaccine supply specifically to North Jersey educators and school staff, so that schools will be able to safely reopen.

“It’s vital that we reopen North Jersey’s schools safely, which means we need to ensure our educators and school staff have access to the vaccine. That’s why it’s incredible to see Valley’s initiative to vaccinate 5,000 teachers here this week, and it’s why I’m working to expand this effort to all hospitals in the Fifth District. I hope more hospitals and localities set aside a portion of our vaccines for educators, with specific hours for teachers to come get their shot,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer today.

“We are so grateful to Representative Gottheimer for touring our site and for everything he and the other Members of our delegation are doing to support the vaccination effort, and to highlight the need to vaccinate teachers as quickly as possible,” said Audrey Meyers, the President and CEO of The Valley Hospital and Valley Health System.

Earlier this week, Gottheimer published an op-ed with fellow New Jersey Congressman Tom Malinowski (NJ-7) in the Star-Ledger, urging New Jersey to re-open our schools safely, for state and local leaders to do more, including setting aside full days at state- and county-administered testing sites just for teachers and school staff. 

The most recent COVID-19 relief package, which Gottheimer helped and which has now been signed into law, includes more than $2.7 billion from the U.S. Department of Education to the State of New Jersey to help reopen schools safely.

Below: Gottheimer with frontline health care workers in Paramus today.

Below: Gottheimer marks down this week’s total vaccinations for North Jersey educators and school staff.

Below: Gottheimer, Paramus Mayor Rich LaBarbiera, and Valley Hospital leadership and staff today.

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