In Bergen County, a COVID-19 vaccine equity team, formed by a number of organizations, is designed to cut down barriers to vaccination by bringing doses directly to underserved communities. On Friday, at the first of three clinics being offered to the Ramapough Lenape Nation of Bergen County, roughly 60 doses were administered at the Ramapough Lenape Community Center.
“The Ramapoughs have fallen through the cracks for 500 years … this is the first time in my lifetime that I’ve known where we have been able to have an equal shot at staying alive and being treated equally like everybody else,’’ said Dwain Perry, chief of the Lenape People. The Mahwah-based tribal nation is made up of about 5,000 individuals.
