Ocean County, New Jersey recently received a 3,400 dose weekly Moderna supply.
Then the Murphy Administration arbitrarily decided to pull back 400 of the doses. LD10 State Senator Jim Holzapfel and his colleagues Assemblymen Greg McGuckin and John Catalano vented their outrage on Wednesday.
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“This is yet another example of how the Administration’s vaccine rollout plan has been a complete failure for our senior residents,” the legislators said in a joint statement. “It’s been one hurdle after another for our seniors who have endured the long wait for appointments, lack of supply and difficulty accessing mega sites. Now they must witness the Governor cutting 400 doses from the Ocean County Health Department’s supply, which are rightfully theirs. It’s more than wrong it’s playing God with people’s health.”
With its famous beach communities and relatively low cost of living compared to the New York metro area, the legendary Jersey Shore county is popular with retirees and is therefore home to a large population of Covid-vulnerable senior citizens. Ocean County’s 55,708 positive cases since last witner makes it the 6th most coronavirus active county in New Jersey over the past year.
Ocean is also one of the state’s most Republican counties, and the LD10 GOP legislators suggested a political motive for the dosage decision.
“It’s shameful and appalling that our Governor would pull a political stunt such as this with our seniors who are relying on these vital doses,” said the trio. “With the number of senior citizens in Ocean County, the Governor should know that those 400 vaccines have already been spoken for by our residents. We are demanding that Governor Murphy immediately restore Ocean County’s vaccine supply.”
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