Full Notification

Below is an update from Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla on COVID-19: 

Update from Hoboken Health Department

The Hoboken Health Department has reported the following new COVID-19 cases:

January 13: 56 
January 14: 28 
January 15: 33 
January 16: 7

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Hoboken has had a total of 2,443 known, confirmed infections, along with 39 COVID-19 related deaths. Hoboken University Medical Center reports treating 21 patients with COVID-19, which include two Hoboken residents.

Hoboken remains in the middle of a post-holiday surge

It is an unfortunate reality that Hoboken continues to remain in the middle of a post-holiday surge of COVID-19 cases, reflecting trends across the state and country. The record high numbers we continue to see is yet another reminder that it is critical to avoid indoor gatherings beyond household members, wear a mask whenever you’re outside your home, avoid travel outside of New Jersey, and social distance whenever possible. I know we all want this pandemic behind us, but it’s on all of us to remain diligent so the virus doesn’t spread to our vulnerable residents who remain at-risk.

Update on vaccines

As mentioned in previous updates, we began on Thursday administering the Moderna vaccine to seniors at Hoboken University Medical Center. The vaccines given to seniors are an allocation of 500 vaccines we received earlier this week from the State of New Jersey. We vaccinated an additional 78 Hoboken seniors on Friday, reflecting a total of over 125 vaccinations provided to those over 65 years of age in two days. Approximately 25 members of law enforcement were also vaccinated on Friday. We will continue senior vaccinations next week at HUMC, working off the senior pre-registration list, and hope to increase the amount of vaccinations administered on a daily basis.

I’m pleased to see that approximately 1,500 seniors have signed up on our Hoboken pre-registration list to receive the vaccine. Given that we had 500 vaccines in hand at the beginning of the week, we are currently in the process of scheduling an additional 350 appointments (after 125 seniors, 25 law enforcement vaccinated) this week.

For those seniors who have signed up but have not yet been called - please know that once you have signed up over the phone or online, you will receive a call in the coming weeks to schedule an appointment when our vaccine supply is able to accommodate the demand. If Hoboken was guaranteed vaccine shipments by the State, we would schedule vaccine appointments throughout the next several weeks; however there are no guarantees given the slower than expected flow of vaccines from the federal government to states and then to municipalities, and we do not want to schedule appointments that we would then have to cancel and reschedule. Ultimately, cities like Hoboken are at the mercy of the federal government on how quickly vaccines can be produced and distributed to local governments.

That said, we have ordered more vaccines from the State which we hope to receive in the very near future. Please know that as additional shipments come in, we will be calling seniors to schedule additional appointments as quickly and efficiently as possible. I ask those seniors who pre-registered, and those who will soon pre-register with pre-existing medical conditions, to please be patient. On Friday, I provided an overview of the information above in a robocall to seniors who signed-up for a vaccine.

Additionally, as mentioned before, we’ve strongly advocated with the State to allocate vaccines to other Hoboken medical providers and pharmacies, which have done an incredible job of testing in Hoboken – and I have no doubt they would be able to efficiently vaccinate more of our population in the weeks ahead.

As an update, we will be releasing a Hoboken pre-registration list for those with pre-existing medical conditions as determined by the State and CDC on Tuesday. We will keep everyone updated as to this link and how to pre-register if you have one of the medical conditions that would qualify you to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the current 1B phase.

Getting more seniors on the Hoboken vaccine pre-registration list

To help get more seniors signed-up to receive the vaccine, we today pre-registered a number of seniors directly at our senior buildings as well as distributed hundreds of flyers with the pre-registration information. I thank the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and additional volunteers for helping in this effort. We want to make sure that as many seniors know how to sign-up for the vaccine, and reach those who don’t have regular internet access. If you know a senior who may not have regular internet access, please take a few minutes to see if he/she needs a helping hand to sign-up on the pre-registration form. Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for seniors to sign-up, in order to facilitate more vaccinations for our most at-risk population.

Community Emergency Response Team hotline

The hotline run by the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will be operating remotely on Monday due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day. While CERT will not be answering phone calls on Monday at the hotline, they will be checking messages to sign-up seniors on the vaccine pre-registration list that leave voicemails.

Reminder of way for seniors (65 and up) to sign-up for a vaccine in Hoboken

Option 1: Visit www.hobokennj.gov/seniors and fill out the required information including name, address, date of birth and phone number of the senior.

Option 2: Call CERT at 201-420-5621, Monday through Friday from 9 am until 2 pm and provide them with the name, address, date of birth and phone number of the senior.

Friends and family are welcome to fill out the pre-registration form on behalf of the senior.

Hudson County vaccination site (USS Juneau Center, 110 Hackensack Avenue, Kearny)

On Friday, the drive-through Hudson County vaccination site in Kearny opened vaccine registration to Hudson County seniors 65 years of age or older and those with pre-existing medical conditions, as determined by the State and CDC. Appointments are required; however they were booked as of Friday due to the high demand. For more information and to create a profile on the Hudson County site, and to check periodically if availability opens up, please visit https://www.hudsoncovidvax.org/register.

Prompt MD COVID-19 testing site closed Monday

On Monday (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), the Riverside Medical COVID-19 testing site will remain open, while the Prompt MD testing site at 605 Jackson will be closed. Prompt MD will resume testing on Tuesday.

Hoboken Food Pantry food distribution

The Hoboken Food Pantry is continuing to provide food and groceries to anyone who needs it, as it has throughout the pandemic. The next food distribution days are on January 20, February 10 and February 24 between the hours of 10:00 am and 12:30 pm. Distribution will take place at 1301 Washington Street (Hoboken Community Center), 124 Grand Street (Multi-Service Center) and 601 Jackson Street (Jubilee Center).

Thank you again to all of the food pantry volunteers for coordinating this critical service for our residents.

Sincerely,

Ravi S. Bhalla 
Mayor