President Joe Biden ushered in what he called “a new phase” of the COVID-19 response.
“We are launching a new vaccine—our first in almost two years—with a new approach,” said President Biden at the White House on Sept. 6. “For most Americans, that means one COVID-19 shot, once a year, each Fall.”
The pronouncement comes as the federal government, starting this week, distributed the new vaccines to pharmacies, doctor’s offices, and community health centers, and other places. The Moderna vaccine is authorized for use as a single booster dose in individuals 18 years of age and older, while the Pfizer is approved for use as a single booster dose in individuals 12 years of age and older.
Fall Booster
“The new vaccines provide the strongest protection from the new Omicron strain of the COVID virus, which did not exist when the original vaccine was developed,” said Biden. “As the virus continues to change, we will now be able to update our vaccines annually to target the dominant variant. Just like your annual flu shot, you should get it sometime between Labor Day and Halloween. It’s safe, it’s easy to get, and it’s free.”
The President promoted this once-a-year shot as reducing the risk of getting COVID-19, of spreading it to others, and dramatically reducing your risk of having a severe case.
“Winter is not that far away—in the past two years, we have seen COVID-19 cases and deaths soar (during this season). It does not have to be that way this year,” he said.
COVID-19 cases:
New daily PCR cases: 1,348; Probable Cases: 600
Total Cases: 2,689,371 (2,286,055 PCR cases, 403,316 probable cases)
New Confirmed Deaths: 15 (10 probable deaths, 34,601 total deaths)
Rate of Transmission: 0.89, down from 0.92 from the day before
Percent Positivity: 10.4% as of Sept. 2; by region, the rate was 10.6% in the North, 10.6% in the Central region and 9.8% in the South
By County:
Bergen County: 140 New Cases, 82 Probable Cases, 3,212 deaths, 336 probable deaths
Essex County: 142 New Cases, 63 Probable Cases, 3,359 deaths, 313 probable deaths
Hudson County: 133 New Cases, 27 Probable Cases, 2,552 total deaths, 221 probable deaths
Morris County: 44 New Cases, 65 Probable Cases, 1,304 deaths, 306 probable deaths
Passaic County: 88 New Cases, 24 Probable Cases, 2,178 deaths, 204 probable deaths
Sussex County: 17 New Cases, 23 Probable Cases, 406 deaths, 97 probable deaths
Warren County: 18 New Cases, 2 Probable Cases, 324 deaths, 29 probable deaths
Hospitals
Hospitalizations: 950 (381 North; 324 Central; and 245 South)
Patients in intensive care units: 101
Patients on ventilators: 42
Patients discharged: 115
The state dashboard showed 70 of 71 hospitals in the state reporting
Long-term Care Facilities
Facilities currently reporting one case: 386 (3,134 overall)
Current number of residents: 6,846 (56,129 overall)
Current number of staffers: 6,720 (45,188 overall)
Number of Deaths: 9,557 overall (8,750 reported by facilities, 139 staff deaths)
Vaccine
Total number of COVID-19 vaccines administered in New Jersey: 14,732,784 (14,210,763 in-state, plus an additional 522,021 administered out-of-state)
Fully Vaccinated: 7,032,082 (6,822,363 in state and another 209,719 out of state). By county, 740,520 in Bergen County, 613,625 in Essex, 545,952 in Hudson, 395,765 in Morris, 368,973 in Passaic, 94,669 in Sussex, and 62,520 in Warren.
Booster Shots: 4,268,958 (2,361,050 Pfizer, 1,834,073 Moderna and 73,835 Johnson & Johnson)
