COVID-19 Community Vaccination Center at NJIT: 221,450 Inoculations in 90 Days
As the federally supported COVID-19 Community Vaccination Center at New Jersey Institute of Technology entered its final days, leaders of the operation that ultimately delivered 221,450 vaccinations in 90 days recognized each other for their cooperation, professionalism and humanity.
Officials from FEMA, the National Guard, U.S. Air Force, N.J. Department of Health, N.J. State Police and NJIT spoke during a ceremony inside the center, even while Air Force personnel continued to deliver vaccinations.
“Everybody here did a great job providing a service to Newark,” said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Wayne McCaughey, the dual status commander for the COVID response in the state.
Brig. Gen. McCaughey, FEMA Region 2 Acting Administrator Thomas Fargione and State Police Lt. Col. Wayne Korte all thanked NJIT President Joel S. Bloom for hosting the center, which occupied the Naimoli Family Athletic and Recreational Facility, normally the site of collegiate and recreational tennis. In the span of a few days, FEMA and NJIT converted the 25,000 square feet of space into the Community Vaccination Center, a pilot of the Biden-Harris administration that, at its peak, delivered more than 6,700 inoculations in one day.
The process of selecting the site had been initiated by the City of Newark, under the N.J. Office of Emergency Management, N.J. DOH and Essex County, to find a location that would serve vulnerable communities based on the Centers for Disease Control’s Social Vulnerability Index. The mega-center opened in late March, with city, state and federal leaders touring the facility, including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Gov. Phil Murphy, State Commissioner of Health Judith Persichilli, State Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin and U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill.
As part of a shared goal of the Biden, Murphy and Baraka administrations, the collaboration between the three levels of government was established to efficiently and equitably administer vaccinations, with the ability to inoculate 6,000 individuals a day, seven days a week. The hundreds of women and men from the Air Force who worked at the center delivered protection from a virus that to date has caused the death of more than 600,000 in the United States, including about 26,400 in N.J. alone.
As FEMA's Fargione stood and spoke, he faced Bloom, seated a few feet in front of him, and said, “Without this school, without this facility, without their support, this doesn’t happen, folks. This is a remarkable partnership here.”
Bloom, in turn, credited the logistics of the dedicated NJIT and FEMA staffers who partnered to transform the building into a place that worked to “improve the quality of life for people. And we need to do it more. And we need to do it with greater equity.
“But the fact that this happened here in Newark is just outstanding,” he added. “We thank you for what you’ve done here. We thank you for the lives that you’ve saved.”
The ceremony also recognized a dozen key partners in the operation with certificates of appreciation, including three members of the NJIT community: Chief External Affairs Officer Dr. Angela R. Garretson, Executive Director of Events and Conference Services Lorie Brown and Director of Operations and Conference Services Albert Martinez. The others were Dr. Sheryl Bedno of University Hospital in Newark; U.S. Air Force leaders Col. Lynn Shinabery and Lt. Col. Mark Jones; FEMA Newark Division Supervisor Devin Kerins and his deputies, Tammy Horner and Sean Card; N.J. State Police sergeants Lance Visone and Clinton Pagano; and N.J. DOH liaison Bill Capella.
The ceremony closed with a moment of silence to remember all those lost to COVID since early 2020.
