October 17, 2022

Congressman Kim - Coronavirus Update – October 2022

NJ COVID-19 Cases Update (as of 10/17/22 at 10:00 a.m.)

• +1,163 NEW COVID-19 cases statewide
  
  • 7-day average of NEW cases a day: 1,528
• +0 NEW fatalities / total (cumulative) fatalities in New Jersey: 31,706
• 78% of New Jersey residents of all eligible ages are fully vaccinated
• +60 NEW cases in Burlington County
  
  • The COVID-19 community risk level in Burlington County is currently medium. 
  • 77% of Burlington County residents of all eligible ages are vaccinated  
  • 19 Long Term Care facilities with ACTIVE outbreaks
  • Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that Burlington County residents who are at high risk for severe illness, talk to your healthcare provider about whether you need to wear a mask and take other precautions. All should stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and get tested if you have symptoms.People may choose to mask at any time. People with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask.
• +60 NEW cases in Ocean County 
  
  • The COVID-19 community risk level in Ocean County is currently medium.
  • 56% of Ocean County residents of all eligible ages are vaccinated
  • 35 Long Term Care facilities with ACTIVE outbreaks
  • Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that Ocean County residents who are at high risk for severe illness, talk to your healthcare provider about whether you need to wear a mask and take other precautions. All should stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and get tested if you have symptoms. People may choose to mask at any time. People with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask.

• On October 12th, the CDC and the FDA authorized the use of updated “bivalent” COVID-19 boosters to include children 5 years old and older. The bivalent boosters target the original coronavirus strain as well as subvariants. Bivalent boosters were previously authorized for people 12 and older.
• On October 13th, the Biden administration extended the COVID-19 public health emergency through January 11th, citing an expected spike in cases during the winter.
• Since September 14th, 2022 the Burlington County Health Department conducts weekly COVID vaccination clinics 3 days a week at different sites. Click here for vaccine offerings and address information. The clinics will be at:
  - The Gibson House on Wednesdays from 9 AM to 3 PM
  - Bordentown Senior Center on Thursdays from 12 PM to 6 PM
  - Burlington County Health Department on Saturdays from 9 AM to 3 PM.
• The Ocean County Health Department is holding COVID/Flu Vaccine and Testing Clinics every Monday throughout October at the Ocean County Health Department from 2 PM to 6 PM (excluding 10/31) and every Friday at the Manchester Clinic from 10 AM to 2 PM. Additional dates and times can be found here. Visit OCHD.org to schedule an appointment.

CDC Mask Recommendations 

CDC mask recommendations are now based on their COVID-19 Community Level tool, which was released in February. The guidelines, which classify the country into low, medium, and high levels of COVID-19, provide individuals with an understanding of what precautions they should consider based on the level of disease in their community, their underlying risk, and their own risk tolerance. The metrics are based on hospitalizations and case rates.  You can read more about the CDC metrics, which are updated every Thursday, here.

As of today, Burlington and Ocean Counties are considered MEDIUM RISK, according to the CDC. Therefore, federal recommendation is that people may choose to mask at any time. People with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask.

Additional precautions may be needed for people at high risk for severe illness. If you are at high risk for severe illness, talk to your healthcare provider about whether you need to wear a mask and take other precautions. Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and get tested if you have symptoms

0 counties in New Jersey are currently considered high risk. The recommendations don’t trigger any mask requirements in New Jersey.

N95 masks are available for free at pharmacies, retailers, and community health centers. You can find free masks here. 

General COVID-19 Vaccine Information

Anyone six-months years old or above who lives, works, or studies in New Jersey is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. For more information about current eligibility, statewide vaccination site locations, and to preregister for vaccination, visit COVID-19.nj.gov/vaccine.

The New Jersey COVID-19 Vaccine Call Center can also be reached at: 1-855-568-0545

• Click here for upcoming vaccination clinics and testing sites in Burlington County. 
• Click here for Ocean County Health Department vaccine clinics and testing locations. 

Additional vaccination information specific for veterans, businesses, seniors, and children is available here. If you need a new copy of your vaccination card, click here. 

Booster Information

General CDC Information on Updated Bivalent Boosters

• Updated “bivalent” boosters protect against both the original virus that causes COVID-19 and the Omicron variant BA.4 and BA.5.
• Previous boosters are called “monovalent” because they were designed to protect against the original virus that causes COVID-19. They also provide some protection against Omicron, but not as much as the updated (bivalent) boosters.
• The virus that causes COVID-19 has changed over time. The different versions of the virus that have developed over time are called variants.
• Two COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers, Pfizer and Moderna, have developed updated (bivalent) COVID-19 boosters.

The FDA and CDC have authorized booster shots for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is now only authorized for use in a primary series. Novavax, which was first authorized in July 2022, is not authorized for use as a booster dose at this time. CDC recommendations vary as outlined below. 

People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised have different recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines.

• COVID-19 vaccines, including boosters, are recommended for everyone ages five years and older.
• Novavax is not authorized for use as a booster dose at this time. If you received the Novavax vaccine for your primary series, those 12 years and older are recommended to get the bivalent Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for their booster shot.
• If you received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for your primary series and are 18 years and older, it is recommended that you get the bivalent Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for your booster shot.
• The updated Pfizer or Moderna bivalent booster is recommended for people 5 years of age or older. At this time, people 5 years old can only receive the updated bivalent Pfizer booster. Children ages 6 to 17 years old can receive the Pfizer or Moderna bivalent booster.

Information on Mixing COVID-19 Vaccine Products:

Primary series - CDC does not recommend mixing products for your primary series doses. If you received Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Novavax for the first dose of your primary series, you should get the same product for all following primary series doses.

Boosters - 

• People ages 6 years and older may get a different product for their bivalent booster than they got for their primary series. People ages 6 and older can no longer get a monovalent mRNA Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna booster.
• 5 year-olds may only get the updated bivalent mRNA Pfizer booster and can no longer get an original monovalent mRNA booster. You can still receive this booster whether you received the Pfizer or Moderna primary series.
• Children younger than 5 years old are not recommended to receive a booster at this time.

The CDC considers people to be up to date if:

• They have completed their primary series and the most recent booster recommended for them.

On Tuesday, March 29th, the CDC recommended a second booster shot of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for immunocompromised individuals over age 12 and adults 50 and older at least four months after their first booster.

People ages 18 through 49 years who got a Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for both their primary dose and booster can choose to get a 2nd booster of either Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at least 4 months after their 1st booster. The 2nd booster is not required to be considered up to date for people ages 18 through 49 years who got a Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for both their primary dose and 1st booster.

COVID-19 Testing 

You can find a testing location near you here and here, order a free saliva test shipped directly to your door here, or find out more information about public testing sites, including pop-up sites here.

The NJ Department of Health and Vault Medical Services are continuing to offer free, at-home COVID-19 saliva test kits. These are available to all, even if you are symptom-free. For more information on ordering and using these free tests, click here. To order a free test kit, visit learn.vaulthealth.com/nj.

For those who are blind or have low-vision, more accessible testing options can be ordered at https://special.usps.com/testkits/accessible or by calling 1-800-232-0233. More information on these tests can be found here.

You can also purchase up to eight at-home, over-the-counter COVID-19 tests a month upfront and then submit a claim for reimbursement to your insurance company. If you purchase an over-the-counter COVID-19 test from a pharmacy, store, or online retailer and are charged for your test, keep your receipt and submit a claim to your insurance company for reimbursement. You can read more about this policy here. People with Medicare can get up to eight tests per month from participating pharmacies and health care providers. Here is a list of the pharmacies participating in Medicare’s over-the-counter tests initiative.

Additional Resources

You can find additional information and resources regarding transportation, returning to work, rental assistance, funeral reimbursement, and healthcare subsidies by clicking here. 

Where Can I Get More Information and Updates From Congressman Kim?

If you or someone you know would like to receive these updates or Congressman Kim’s weekly E-Newsletter, Senior Living Newsletter, Guide to Grants Newsletter, Veterans Newsletter, and/or our Small Business Newsletter, please sign up for them by clicking here.  

If you need help from our office with a Federal Agency, you can get in contact with us by clicking here. 

If you are a nonprofit agency or write grants, you can find more information on grant applications and our Guides to Grants newsletter here.

Our office receives regular inquiries about where to find essential resources. To help constituents, we’ve developed the following lists of resources in New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District and beyond. This list includes organizations with a wide variety of purposes. For more information, please click here.

This email inbox is not monitored. If you would like to contact our office, click here. 

As always, please don’t hesitate to be in touch if you’re in need of assistance.

Sincerely, 

Andy Kim
Member of Congress