By Claire Drewniak
A nurse at University Hospital in Newark received a very special birthday gift on Tuesday: New Jersey’s first vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, as the national rollout moved into the Garden State.
“This is the best birthday present ever!” said Maritza Beniquez, now 56, as people clapped and cheered. “I can see that light at the end of the tunnel. This is it. It’s a great way to celebrate my birthday.”
Beniquez, a resident nurse in the hospital’s emergency department, received the historic injection in her right arm at 8:10 am from ambulatory technician Sady Ferguson.
The vaccine comes as pandemic deaths across the country have topped 300,000, including nearly 16,000 victims in New Jersey.
Morris County has recorded 59 new COVID cases since Friday, and 41 deaths in the same time span, according to Johns Hopkins University. Thirty-five of the new cases are in Morristown, county health officials report.
Gov. Phil Murphy was in Newark to acknowledge Tuesday’s landmark event.
“This is a day that we have been waiting nearly a year for, and while we know this isn’t the end, we are witnessing, at the least, a glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel,” Murphy said.
“Without question, we are still in for several hard months and we are going to face stiff headwinds from this second wave, but now our heroic frontline health care workers can begin to take care of their fellow New Jerseyans with a higher degree of confidence in their own protection,” the governor said.
Phase One of New Jersey’s vaccine roll-out will inoculate healthcare workers on the frontline against the novel coronavirus.
Next to be vaccinated will be nursing home residents, and people with underlying conditions that make them highly at risk from COVID.
The first three million doses of the vaccine are being distributed across all 50 states. The Pfizer vaccine requires ultra cold storage, and is administered in two doses, three weeks apart.
Six acute care hospitals across NJ— Morristown Medical Center, AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Cooper University Hospital, Hackensack University Medical Center, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and University Hospital— are receiving doses this week of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
By the end of the week, 47 more acute care hospitals will have doses ready to administer.
The average person with no co-morbidities likely must wait until March or April for the vaccine, according to the nation’s foremost infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Still, most vaccines take years to reach the public.
“Availability of a COVID-19 vaccine within the same year as the epidemic began is a huge scientific achievement, which can help us contain this virus and save lives,” said New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli.
“We are thankful for our hospitals—who serve communities around the state—for volunteering to provide equitable and efficient access to vaccines to our valued healthcare workforce,” she said.
Beniquez made her comments in English and Spanish.
“As a woman of color, I stand in solidarity with my community and know that we are three times more likely to suffer the catastrophic effects of this disease,” said the nurse, the first of 80 healthcare workers scheduled to be vaccinated Tuesday at the hospital clinic.
“Although I am living proof that PPE functions and has kept me safe while at work, I’m honored to be the first person in New Jersey to receive this vaccine, which will limit the possibility of me contracting this disease and unknowingly transmitting it to others,” Beniquez said.
This report includes pool coverage from Ashley Balcerzak of The Record.
