Burlington County Health Department reminds residents that masks and social distancing must continue after receiving COVID-19 vaccine

WESTAMPTON — The Burlington County Health Department continues to remind residents about the importance of wearing masks and following social-distancing guidelines, even after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination.

The Health Department has taken the lead in providing COVID-19 testing for Burlington County residents and is now partnering with the State of New Jersey and Virtua Health to administer vaccines.

A vaccination program is a significant advancement toward slowing and ultimately ending the spread of COVID-19. However, health officials caution this is just the beginning of the end of the pandemic and that vaccines are just one of the tools being used to combat the disease.

All residents should wear masks in public, wash their hands frequently, avoid crowds and larger gathering and follow social-distancing rules and quarantine guidance.

“The arrival of vaccines that can help protect against COVID-19 is an exciting development, which we believe will ultimately help bring an end to the pandemic,” said Dr. Herb Conaway, the Health Department’s director. “But while we understand our residents’ enthusiasm, we need them to remain vigilant and continue to take precautions to keep the virus from spreading.

“Even those who have received the vaccine should continue masking up and social-distancing,” he added.

To date, more than 31,000 doses of vaccine have been administered in Burlington County.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has also stressed that residents should not abandon public health measures after being vaccinated.

“The vaccine won’t put an end to most COVID precautions for a while. Until you have virus that is so low in society, we as a nation need to continue to wear the mask, to keep the physical distance, to avoid crowds,” Fauci said. “We’re not through with this just because we’re starting a vaccine program. … We still have a long way to go, and we’ve got to get as many people as possible vaccinated of all groups.”

For more information about COVID-19 prevention, testing and vaccine, please go to the Health Department website at http://co.burlington.nj.us/health