Camden officials are calling their new health hub a one-stop shop for all things COVID- and health care-related — a place where COVID-19 testing and vaccines (including boosters), even flu shots will be administered.
Camden County commissioners, in partnership with Cooper University Health Care and the Rutgers-Camden School of Nursing, will formally launch the new Camden County Health Hub at the Camden County College Blackwood campus Thursday afternoon.
The site will be operated in the vast parking lot on campus, utilizing pop-up hospital pods, while residents are seen from their cars. The site will be open Tuesday nights (4-8 p.m.) and Thursday mornings (9 a.m.-1 p.m.)
These days and times are subject to change, based on the demand from the community. Individuals can register for an appointment here. Please note, vaccinations and COVID testing are being distributed by appointment only.
Camden officials feel the convenience and accessibility for the public to clinicians and vaccines will be unlike any other service provided in the region. Depending on the patient need, public health professionals will have multiple drive-thru lines for residents to use regarding their need for the visit to the new outdoor complex.
The Camden County Health Hub will be constructed in two phases:
- Phase one: Opening Thursday, it will be administering first doses and second doses of Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. It will also include booster doses of Pfizer for eligible members of the population and third doses of both Moderna and Pfizer.
- Phase two: Opening on Nov. 1, it will encompass COVID testing and other amenities moving forward.
The Camden County Department of Health and Human Services and its partners stressed that they are anticipating booster approvals for other vaccines in the near future, but the only booster available to public is for Pfizer, which can only be given to recipients who have had their first two doses.
In addition to providing vaccines for the general population, the site also will be preparing for another cohort of residents, children 5 and up, who will become eligible for the Pfizer vaccine in the coming weeks after FDA approval is granted. This cross-section of the population will also drive demand for more first doses of the vaccines as well.
Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said the health hub will have great impact moving forward.
“For all of the outstanding work our public health team did last spring, vaccinating more than 100,000 people, the pandemic is not over and continues to evolve,” Cappelli said. “In our fight against Delta, and to ensure that boosters can get out into the community to aid frontline workers, the immunocompromised and senior citizens this hub will provide everything in one place.”
Cappelli said the hub is a perfect example of a public-private partnership delivering an essential service for the county.
