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Passaic
County Department of Health
TEL:
(973) 881-4396
FAX:
(973) 225-0222
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 04, 2003
(973)
225-3638
The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services began
the first phase of its smallpox vaccination program Friday,
January 31, 2003 by immunizing public health worker volunteers
at the War Memorial in Trenton.
Public health volunteers from Passaic County will join forces
with the counties of Morris, Sussex and Warren to operate
one-of-seven regional clinics that begins February 10th at the
Dover Armory on Route 15 in Morris County. The goal of the
clinic is to vaccinate volunteers from this regions four-county
acute care hospitals over the next month. Local hospitals from
Passaic County, including St. Mary's Hospital, Passaic General,
St. Joseph's Paterson, Passaic Beth Israel, St. Joseph's Wayne
and Barnert Hospital have been requested to identify hospital
volunteers for vaccination. Clinic coordination for Passaic
County’s response has been a successful joint effort between the
Passaic County Department of Health and the Paterson Health
Department.
New Jersey’s smallpox vaccination plan is based on guidance from
the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the New
Jersey MEDPREP/Terrorism Advisory Committee, the Infectious
Diseases Society of New Jersey and the federal Advisory
Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). It includes input
from the New Jersey Hospital Association, the departments of Law
and Public Safety and Labor, healthcare workers’ unions, local
health departments and Local Information Network and
Communication System (LINCS) agencies, among others.
The federal government could subsequently authorize a second
phase of smallpox vaccination for additional health care workers
and first responders, such as police, firefighters and emergency
medical technicians. The federal government does not recommend
smallpox vaccination for the general public at this time.
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