Health & Fitness

Jersey City Seniors, Front Liners Get Free Uber For COVID Vaccine

Jersey City and Uber agreed to bring seniors and front liners for free to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The US death toll has reached 377,000.

Jersey City seniors 75 and up will be part of the next round to get vaccinated.
Jersey City seniors 75 and up will be part of the next round to get vaccinated. (Shutterstock )

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop's office announced Tuesday an agreement with Uber to bring essential frontline workers and seniors to and from Jersey City's COVID-19 vaccination sites without cost to them.

At the start of Phase 1B in New Jersey, which includes essential frontline workers and seniors 75 years old and over, Uber will donate 12,000 free round-trip rides to the city and its residents.

Right now, as part of the state's Phase 1A, only health workers, nursing home residents and staffs, and staffs of mortuaries and labs are able to get vaccinated. Certain essential workers like police and firefighters were added on Thursday. Phase 1B will include seniors 75 and up, and 1C will include those 65 and up and other groups. The state website explains the phases.

Find out what's happening in Hobokenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Uber agreement will help these residents avoid potentially crowded mass transit and having to pay extra for a ride.

Hudson County, just across the river from Manhattan, is the sixth most densely populated county in the United States. Within it, Jersey City alone has 262,000 residents.

Find out what's happening in Hobokenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“This latest joint venture with Uber will provide our seniors and frontline workers with free, safe, and direct access to lifesaving vaccinations,” said Mayor Fulop. “I’m extremely grateful for Uber’s generosity, which will ultimately encourage more people to get vaccinated early.”

Eligible residents can indicate they need a free Uber ride when scheduling their vaccination appointment with the city (see link to the city and county sites below). Rides can be booked through the Uber app. For those who do not have access to the company’s app, Uber will also provide the city with a dedicated platform called “Uber Health” where HHS staff can book rides for residents.

For more information and an appointment, when eligible, please visit www.jerseycitynj.gov/vaccine.

“Leveraging our platform to help communities and small businesses during the pandemic has been our company’s primary focus in recent months and this groundbreaking partnership with Mayor Fulop and Jersey City fits that mission perfectly,” said Alix Anfang, Spokesperson for Uber New Jersey.

This week, a resolution ratifying the emergency contract award to BeSpoke Health will be voted on at a City Council meeting, extending BeSpoke’s contract to manage the COVID-19 vaccination efforts as part of the city’s ongoing response to the pandemic. The city’s vaccine scheduling portal will be available through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) once the federal government opens vaccinations to Phase 1B.

The city’s first vaccination site is the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center, located on Martin Luther King Drive, with sites expanding to all six wards as more people can get vaccinated under federal guidelines.

To address the lack of education taking place nationwide, Jersey City is also offering informational workshops about the vaccine to all of Phase 1A, and will extend availability according to the federally phased allocation.

To get more information about the vaccine or make an appointment, you can also go to the countywide website.

Vaccination goals and phases

The state's goal is to vaccinate 70 percent of the adult population – or 4.7 million adults – within six months.

Gov. Phil Murphy reportedly said last week that he'd like to start vaccinating the general public by Memorial Day.

State and national trends

New Jersey had its highest new case total ever from last Wednesday to Thursday, and a daily death toll of 123 people. More than 17,000 across the state have passed away from the virus.

This was the first time New Jersey topped 100 fatalities for three days in a row, since May.

Gov. Phil Murphy said 3,488 people are hospitalized with the virus statewide, 668 on ICU, 469 on ventilators. He also said 459 coronavirus patients were admitted to hospitals and 449 discharged.

As of Tuesday, more than 377,000 Americans had died of the virus. (You can see which states had the highest death toll in the past week on this CDC map.)

NATIONAL TRENDS

HOW TO GET HELP WITH HEAT, RENT, AND MORE

  • During the State of Emergency in New Jersey, no tenant is permitted to be evicted from their home or apartment for the inability to pay rent. Talk to your local mayor's office if you are experiencing difficulties.
  • The CARES act has made money available to help with rent in each city. More information is here.
  • New Jersey residents can get help with heating and energy bills. Information is here.
  • Various other avenues of relief and benefits have also been made available, including family leave for 12 weeks if you can't work due to your child's school or camp being closed, and changes to unemployment rules to help those who were at a job for a short time, or freelancing.

LONG-TERM CARE

  • Recently, there were 159 long term care facilities with active outbreaks, the state Department of Health said last month. The state announced that deaths at the facilities had more than doubled since May 1.
  • New Jersey residents became alarmed at the high number of residents who have passed away in nursing homes, rehabs, and similar facilities. The state announced plans in May to increase testing at some long term care facilities.
  • The state released death toll statistics in spring for long-term care facilities like rehabs and nursing homes. See the list here.
  • You can report problems with long term care facilities here, or if you suspect coronavirus related misconduct, here.
  • Some New Jersey long-term care facilities reopened for limited visits, with precautions, in July.
  • Facilities began receiving the coronavirus vaccine in December and January, starting with a long-term care home in Old Bridge in December.

Here are statewide coronavirus resources:

  • NJ COVID-19 Information Hub: https://covid19.nj.gov/
  • General COVID-19 questions: 2-1-1
  • NJ COVID-19 hotline: (800) 222-1222

Got news? Email caren.lissner@patch.com. Got photos? Please include express written permission from the photographer for us to use them. To be the first to get free news alerts with breaking stories in Hudson County, or to get a free local newsletter each morning, sign up for Patch breaking news alerts or daily newsletters.


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