COVID-19 Resources

COVID-19 vaccination is a critical prevention measure to help end the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even during a national pandemic, Disability Rights New Jersey is fighting to ensure people with disabilities have the right to live, work, learn and access their community without discrimination or increased risks due to the COVID-19 virus.  That includes increasing access to the COVID-19 vaccines.

COVID-19 vaccination is a critical prevention measure to help end the COVID-19 pandemic. Three vaccines are now widely available in the United States, and the CDC recommends all people 12 years and older be vaccinated against COVID-19.  

If you are a person with a disability and having problems accessing the COVID-19 vaccine, or need more information, view the content below.

COVID-19 vaccines are now widely available in the United States, and CDC recommends all people 12 years and older be vaccinated against COVID-19. Three COVID-19 vaccines are currently authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use: two mRNA vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna) and one adenoviral vector vaccine (Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine). People are considered fully vaccinated if they are ≥2 weeks following receipt of the second dose in a 2-dose series (mRNA vaccines), or ≥2 weeks following receipt of a single-dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson/Janssen).

Know Your Rights

Do you have questions about your legal rights during the COVID-19 crisis?  Have you encountered an issue with access to a vaccine?  Do you know someone residing in a facility and the staff are not safeguarding from COVI-19 outbreak?   

The COVID-19 Vaccine Team at Disability Rights NJ created a video to explain more about your rights to access the COVID-19 vaccines and how we help. View the videos below in English and Spanish.

COVID-19 Vaccine Information for New Jerseyeans

New Jersey has experienced over 400,000 positive cases and approximately 16,000 deaths associated with COVID-19. Vaccination is the latest tool in our toolbox to stop the spread. New Jersey recently rolled out COVID-19 vaccines step-by-step to serve all who live, work or study in the state.

Starting in mid-December and continuing into early 2021, vaccine access will be given to New Jersey’s Phase 1A Group: health care workers, who are paid and unpaid persons serving in healthcare settings, who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials. Phase 1A also includes long-term care residents and staff.

Once vaccine availability expands, vaccination will advance to Phase 1B, then Phase 1C, and then Phase 2.

Currently, Phase 1B of vaccination will include frontline essential workers and individuals over 75; Phase 1C will include other essential workers, adults 65-74, and persons aged 16-64 with medical conditions that increase the risk for severe COVID-19.

Following these phases, the general public (Phase 2) will be eligible for vaccination.

New Jersey’s COVID-19 vaccination program aims to:

• Provide equitable access to all who live, work, and/or are educated in New Jersey
• Achieve community protection, assuming vaccine effectiveness, availability and uptake
• Build sustainable trust in COVID-19 and other vaccinesNew Jersey’s goal is to vaccinate 70 percent of the adult population – 4.7 million adults – within six months.

Please review the three documents below for further explanation about New Jersey’s vaccine access plan: