New Jersey launched a staffed COVID-19 vaccine hotline this week, Gov. Phil Murphy said.
People with questions about the vaccine can call 855-568-0545 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to reach one of 250 New Jersey-based operators.
Murphy said the phone line had 17,000 calls in the first hour it was operating.
The line is aimed at helping answering questions about appointments and registration. But it comes as the state’s supply of the vaccine, like much of the country, is below what is needed.
Currently, New Jersey receives about 100,000 vaccines a week, but would need closer to 500,000 to meet demand, health officials have said.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Jersey fell from from 6,005 new cases per day on Jan. 10 to 5,084 new cases on Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
- Associated Press