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First Lady Tammy Murphy on Friday continued her ongoing tour of COVID-19 vaccination sites by visiting the clinic at ShopRite in Marlboro.

The appointment-only site is tucked into a back corner of the store, right past the buffet tables in the hot-food section. It’s quartered off from shoppers.

Joined by ShopRite owner Richard Saker and Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornick, Murphy was on hand to see four ShopRite employees get their first doses of the vaccine. That included Nick Berardi, an 84-year-old Freeholder resident who works in the dairy department.

Berardi said his children have been “all on my case” to get the vaccine and he did so despite “mixed feelings.”

“I want to get it,” he said. “I have a little anxiety, but everything I’ve heard has been good.”

The site has averaged dozens of doses a day, according to ShopRite spokeswoman Amanda DePalma. The Marlboro location is one of five ShopRite stores with vaccine clinics.  The others are East Brunswick, Hamilton Marketplace, Hazlet, and Pennington. The site has been vaccinating eligible employees, first responders, and eligible members of the general public when there is enough supply. 

New Jersey now has more than 300 vaccine locations, and officials stress that the infrastructure is there, but the state has been relying on the federal government for its supply. 

“The second we have more vaccine, we’ll be in really great shape,” Tammy Murphy said after Friday’s visit.

Asked how the ShopRite site was different than more traditional vaccine sites, Murphy said all the state’s sites are “clean” and “efficient.” 

“Everybody is highly skilled and capable of what they need to do,” the first lady said.

Brent Johnson
Reporter
NJ.COM

PHOTOS

Photos of the First Lady's visit will be uploaded to the Governor's Flickr page.