COURT HOUSE – Cape May County is continuing its aggressive media campaign to promote its Safely-Together messaging. The multi-media effort focuses on television, radio, print, and social media to encourage individuals to get vaccinated, receive eligible booster doses, and to mask up, especially when indoors and social distancing can’t be maintained.
This campaign was first created during the spring of 2019, at the onset of the pandemic. The Safely-Together advertisements have been recognized regionally and at the State level for awards and has led to Cape May County being a top five county in New Jersey for vaccination rate.
“All of the resources we need to fight COVID-19 will be available to our team here in Cape May County,” stated Cape May County Commissioner Director Gerald M. Thornton. “Public messaging has always been a key component in our overall effort and will continue to be so in the future.”
The Rate of Transmission is continuing to fall in Cape May County. The website covidactnow.org measured the RT in the County at 1.05 compared to last week at 1.23. Anytime the RT is above 1.0 it can be said the spread of COVID-19 is increasing.
If the RT continues this trend and dips below 1.0 next week, new cases will be declining locally at that point. This would also be similar to the timeline experienced in South Africa, of a peak and then decreasing case numbers, which was the first region of the world to be impacted by the Omicron variant. Cape May County also has the lowest daily new cases per 100K and the third lowest RT in New Jersey among all counties.
The Cape May County Department of Health is offering multiple COVID vaccine clinics every week to provide options for County residents. These clinics will provide initial doses and booster shots of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Individuals that have received the Moderna vaccine must wait six months before receiving the booster shot. People who have taken the Johnson & Johnson vaccine need to wait two months before getting the booster.
Anyone who is 18 years of age or older is now eligible for the COVID-19 booster shot throughout all of New Jersey. These are walk-in clinics. Masks, identification, and COVID-19 Vaccine Cards (if applicable) are required for all clinic locations. This upcoming week, vaccines will be available:
– Tuesday Jan. 18th 11 A.M. to 1 P.M. at the Upper Township Community Center, 1790 NJ-50, in Woodbine
– Wednesday Jan. 19th 2 P.M. to 5 P.M. at the Avalon Community Center, 3001 Avalon Ave. in Avalon
The Cape May County Department of Health administered a total of 24,297 doses so far. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 77,379 Cape May County residents have received at least one vaccine dose and 65,337 have been fully vaccinated. The CDC also reports that 71% of the County’s population is fully vaccinated.
For more information on obtaining the vaccine, quickly and free of charge, go to https://capemaycountynj.gov/226/Health-Department or call (609) 465-1187. Cape May County has recorded 18,668 COVID-19 cases during the pandemic, 15,974 of those are now off quarantine. More details on daily reported case numbers can be found at https://capemaycountynj.gov/1418/Covid-19-Dashboard.
Sadly, we are announcing the passing of a 67-year-old male from Woodbine, a 73-year-old male, a 76-year-old male both from Lower Township and a 77-year-old male from Middle Township, “In this sorrowful time, we would like to extend to the families and friends our heartfelt condolences,” stated Cape May County Commissioner Jeff Pierson.
