A letter from County Executive Brian M. Hughes

Dear Mercer County Community, Mercer County government has been working diligently for the past nine months in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Leading that effort have been our Division of Public Health and our Office of Emergency Management. These teams of talented individuals have provided their experience and expertise to help my administration serve our residents as effectively as possible during a very difficult time. They have coordinated and conducted the county’s COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, including all the logistics associated with those enormous undertakings; secured and distributed personal protective equipment; worked with their counterparts at the state level on all facets of the response; and a great deal more.

Now they are preparing to shift gears and help oversee the COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Mercer County – another enormous undertaking — while continuing with the other things they do to help protect our residents. I’d like to recognize Mercer County Human Services Director Marygrace Billek, Health Officer Kristin Reed, Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Hartman and their staffs for their tireless efforts. There’s much more work to be done, but I believe we are as well-positioned as we can be to continue managing this crisis as the county level.

***

News about COVID-19 vaccines has been very encouraging. Federal approval of Pfizer’s vaccine appears imminent, and New Jersey health officials have said that once approval is granted and the first installment of doses arrives, they are ready to begin inoculating priority individuals.

But while vaccinations represent a light at the end of what has been a long, dark tunnel, the process will take time. The Department of Health’s stated goal is to inoculate 70 percent of New Jersey’s adult population in six months. Vaccinations will be prioritized, and state health officials have estimated it will be several months before doses are available to the general population. How we comport ourselves in the meantime will determine how the pandemic plays out, and whether we can stop the spread of the virus and keep people out of hospitals. The preventive measures we’ve been taking for the past nine months remain necessary. When out in public, wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth. Keep at least 6 feet away from other people. Practice good hand hygiene. Stay home if you are sick. Avoid gatherings. Use common sense.

If you think you may have been exposed to COVID-19, get tested. Mercer County offers a free at-home saliva test and has been scheduling pop-up testing sites for County residents, first responders and health care workers. In addition, a number of pharmacies and health care facilities offer COVID-19 testing in Mercer County, although procedures vary. And if you are called by a contact tracer, please take the call and provide the requested information. Contact tracers will not share your name or personal information.

Relief is coming, but the next few months will pose a challenge. Let’s help each other get through them safely. Let’s continue to work together.

Brian M. Hughes
Mercer County Executive