Here’s how to sign up to get the COVID-19 vaccine in New Jersey

Trying to sign up for the coronavirus vaccine in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem, or Mercer counties? WHYY has answers.

Hannah Chinn

April 6, 2021 1:00 pm

In this Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, file photo, health care workers prepare to give COVID-19 vaccinations at a former Sears store turned in to a vaccination site, in Rockaway, N.J. (Sarah Blesener/The New York Times via AP, Pool, File)

In New Jersey, vaccines are currently available to those eligible in Phases 1A, 1B, and 1C.

That includes health care workers, residents, and staff in long-term care facilities and other congregate settings, individuals 65 and older, and people 16 years of age or older with certain medical conditions that put them at increased risk for developing severe COVID-19 symptoms, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It also includes law enforcement, firefighters, and other first responders, as well as educators, essential workers in public safety, transportation, food production and agriculture, social services, postal services, clergy, and more.

Starting April 5, eligible groups include individuals age 55 and older, additional frontline essential workers, and individuals 16 and older with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Starting April 19, all New Jersey residents 16 and older will be eligible for the vaccine.

(Not part of those priority phases, or still aren’t sure into which phase you fall? Here’s an interactive vaccine priority guide that might help.)

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Throughout South Jersey, individuals who are currently eligible can pre-register and make appointments online through the statewide NJ Vaccine Scheduling System. Note that even if you are eligible to receive a vaccine, an appointment may not be immediately available to you due to limited vaccine doses. Those who are not currently eligible, but who still want to receive the vaccine when it becomes available later, are welcome to pre-register via the scheduling system.

For those without computer or internet access, the state’s vaccination hotline, 1-855-568-0545, is available to pre-register individuals, answer questions, provide contact information for sites, and look up registrations. The hotline is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day and can help callers in more than 240 different languages.

A complete list of all New Jersey vaccine locations, listed by county, is available here. It includes locations that can be contacted directly, as well as locations that are only available for appointments through the statewide scheduling system. A beta project, New Jersey’s COVID-19 Vaccine Finder, is available for eligible residents to search for and schedule currently available appointments.

New Jersey is also distributing vaccines through a pharmacy partnership. Both the Rite Aid online sign-up portal and the Shop-Rite online sign-up portal are open to those 18 or older eligible in Phases 1A and 1B. The CVS online sign-up portal is open to those who live, work, or study in New Jersey in the same phases, but including individuals 16 and older. Sites like Find a Shot and Vaccine Finder — websites that conduct automated searches for available appointments based on ZIP code — can help streamline scheduling at all area pharmacies.

Still having trouble with vaccine sign-up? Try connecting with others. Twitter accounts VaxxUpdates and NJ Vaccine Bot regularly tweet out appointment links across the state, while the NJ COVID Vaccine Info group on Facebook connects people looking for vaccines with community volunteers to help streamline the sign-up process.

If it feels like you’ve signed up on every list possible and still haven’t heard back, remember limited vaccine supply means that it might take a while to get your shot, even if you’re following all the right steps.

How can I sign up for the COVID vaccine in South Jersey?

For Atlantic County, which is currently vaccinating eligible individuals at its mega-site in Atlantic City, online sign-up is located here. Vaccine appointment scheduling opens weekly on Tuesdays at 3 p.m., Thursdays at 6 p.m., and Saturdays at 9 a.m. Walk-ins are not permitted.

For Burlington County, which is currently vaccinating eligible individuals at its mega-site in Moorestown, online sign-up is located here. Registrants will be notified by text or email when vaccine appointments are available, with a link to schedule an appointment. Appointments are required at all vaccine locations — although if you live within 15 minutes of Moorestown Mall, the sign-up form allows you to put your name on a standby list in case last-minute appointments become available.

In Camden County, individuals can get their jab at the county vaccination center located on Camden County College’s Blackwood Campus. Signing up for the vaccine using the statewide scheduling system will not register you for the county vaccination center; separate registration is available online here. The vaccination center is currently administering the Moderna vaccine, which is only approved for individuals 18 and older.

In Cape May County, the county clinic is in Avalon, but vaccinations are by appointment only and there is no county-specific sign-up. Instead, officials encourage individuals to register via the statewide scheduling system.

“The state sends an eligibility email that may indicate that there are some places to schedule appointments, but in our area that is really only the ShopRite at the moment, and they have typically been booked solid,” an announcement posted on the county website reads. “The Department of Aging and the Department of Health are working with the most vulnerable, elderly members of the community to help them get vaccinated, and some frontline workers have been assisted as well. Beyond that, everyone must register in the state system and wait for the scheduling email [and link].”

In Cumberland County, vaccination appointments are available for eligible individuals to schedule online here. If the website shows no appointments available, that means all available slots have been filled for that week. The county’s COVID-19 hotline can be reached at 856- 327-7090.

Gloucester County is currently vaccinating eligible individuals at its mega-site in Sewell. Pre-registration is available via sign-up on the statewide site here, or you can book an appointment directly by calling the Gloucester County COVID call center at 856-218-4142 Monday to Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

The Hunterdon County Health Department runs a rolling waitlist that is not connected to the statewide pre-registration portal or any other provider in the county. Registration on the site will guarantee a spot on the waitlist for an appointment at the Hunterdon County Health Department in Flemington, in the order of sign-up. Each week on Wednesday at 10 a.m., the Health Department will email individuals at the top of the waiting list with information to sign up for an appointment time on the next available day.

The waitlist capacity is currently limited to 5,000 individuals, according to the Health Department website, based on limited supply. The department is provided with 400 to 500 first doses of vaccine from the state every week. Registrants will receive periodic updates via email continuing to confirm their spot on the waiting list.

“Once you have signed up, please do not call the Department of Health or other county offices, as the phone lines are being overwhelmed,” the Hunterdon County site reads. “You will receive a confirmation email of your place on the waiting list and another email when an appointment time is available.”

Outside of the waitlist, vaccine scheduling is available at ShopRite stores in Flemington and Clinton; sign-up is through the online pharmacy portal . Appointments at Hunterdon Healthcare’s vaccine clinics are also available, and can be scheduled by calling 908-237-4238.

Mercer County hosts two vaccination sites: one at CURE Arena in Trenton and another at Mercer County Community College’s West Windsor campus. As of Feb 13, all town vaccine clinics in the county have been relocated to these two sites, and anyone previously on their town’s waiting list will be scheduled at these sites as appointments become available.

Vaccinations are by appointment only, and online pre-registration is solely through sign-up on the statewide scheduling site here. The county directs residents without internet access to register by calling the statewide hotline at 855-568-0545.

In Ocean County, vaccines are available at multiple locations. The Ocean County Health Department’s COVID call center can be reached at 732-380-5079 or toll free at 833-544-0288.

The county Health Department’s clinics operate at Toms River High School North and the RWJ Barnabas Healthcare Arena on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., as well as at Southern Regional Middle School on Tuesdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Individuals must live, work, or study in Ocean County. Appointments, which are required, must be made through the department’s online portal or by calling 800-342-9738.

Ocean Health Initiative has two locations: one in Toms River and one in Little Egg Harbor. When available, appointments can be made online; for more information, call 732-363-6655 (for the Toms River location) or 732-363-6655 (for the Little Egg Harbor location).

The Long Beach Island Health Department has its own vaccine distribution site — vaccine appointments are made available after every new vaccine shipment, and posted on the LBIHD vaccine scheduling page during office hours Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information or assistance, call the department at 609-492-1212.

Vaccine appointments can also be made at the CHEMED Health Center in Lakewood through the online vaccine scheduling system. The health center’s call center can be reached at 732-364-6666, but call center agents cannot book appointments.

The Ocean County website also notes that appointments can be scheduled at ShopRite stores in Manahawkin and Toms River; sign-up is through the online pharmacy portal .

In Salem County, individuals currently eligible for the vaccine can access it in a variety of locations, according to the county website. (Note that Southern Jersey Family Medical Centers, although listed on the site, is no longer taking COVID-19 vaccine appointments at this time.)

At Salem Medical Center, appointments are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon. To schedule an appointment, call 856-469-8555.

At the Salem County Department of Health, appointments can be scheduled online here; appointment slots are updated every Monday at 12 p.m. Residents 65 and older in need of assistance can also email scseniors.OOA@salemcountynj.gov, or call 856-935-7510, ext. 8406, on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 1 to 3 p.m.

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