Thursday marks the official end of the federal COVID-19 health emergency. Despite the drop in the number of confirmed cases and deaths, the challenge continues to persist. “COVID is not going away,” said Judy Persichilli, commissioner of the state Department of Health. “It’s still a public health challenge, but it’s at levels that we feel are manageable.”
Over the course of three years, the state of New Jersey worked to provide a number of resources for residents. From vast accessibility to vaccines and testing, the NJ Department of Health continues to monitor hospital admissions and the cadence of the disease.
“Our local health departments will be continuing to put out alerts if we see any indication of spread in our communities … We’ll be monitoring for surges and the cadence of the disease going forward, which will help us be more predictive in future responses,” Persichilli said.
However, despite the access to vaccines, the elderly and immunocompromised remain at risk.
