NJ casinos eyeing COVID vaccine for all workers by Memorial Day

With vaccine availability and eligibility exploding this week, the heads of the state’s nine casinos are aiming to vaccinate their roughly 25,000 employees before Memorial Day weekend on May 31.

The goal – laid out by the nine casinos, the casino worker union Unite Here Local 54, and AtlantiCare which has a major hospital in Atlantic City – comes days after Gov. Phil Murphy expanded COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to hospitality workers like at hotels and casinos.

As of March 29, any of those workers can get the COVID-19 vaccine at the Atlantic County Vaccine Mega-Site inside the Atlantic City Convention Center, which is being overseen by AtlantiCare, and state and federal emergency officials.

“It’s hard to believe that this time last year, Atlantic City casinos were closed due to the pandemic,” said Steve Callender, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, a trade group for the state’s gambling industry.

Callendar, the outgoing regional president  for Caesars Entertainment – which owns three of the Atlantic City casinos – added that the vaccination efforts will be key to “bringing back even more employees and guests.”

“Getting our local hospitality workers vaccinated is an important part of protecting our community and creating a safe, healthy environment for those who look forward to visiting our region every year,” reads a statement from AtlantiCare President and CEO Lori Herndon.

Nearly a dozen different types of professions became eligible as of Monday, on top of a lowered eligibility age announced on Friday, March 26, and a slew of other essential workers.

So far, over 4 million people have been vaccinated as of March 29, and those who’ve been inoculated include health care workers and other frontline employees, and those with one of more than a dozen eligible medical conditions.

State officials are aiming to fully vaccinate 4.7 million adults by June. The vaccines are a vital component of permanently rolling back restrictions on businesses and public gatherings, mask requirements and advisories against travel, which have been in place this past year to keep the spread of the virus at bay.

Currently, the nation is relying on the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which both require two shots, and the Johnson & Johnson version which only requires a single dosage.

And while the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require storage in Arctic-level temperatures, J&J is shelf stable at refrigeration temperatures, making its transportation and handling far easier.