Pride

Why is it that some people take more pride in and have more loyalty toward the country they ran away from than the country they ran to (The U.S.A.)? Thank you!

The Honorable

Michael Rusznak

Can ShopRite Wake Up?

The recent revelation the brand ShopRite will open 39 of their pharmacies to provide Covid-19 vaccines at New Jersey locations was quickly perplexing since the ShopRite on Convery Boulevard in Perth Amboy was not listed. The reason I was given by the city business representative was the supermarket lacked a technician in the pharmacy. What?

ShopRite revenue for the 2020 year nationally and globally reached 156 billion dollars, up to 10 billion from 2019. Gross income was also steeper at 10 percent higher than the previous year. Noteworthy – the supermarket business has done quite well during the Pandemic. Please acknowledge the equity of distribution when it comes to vaccine access.

Business executives need to allow for a town resource, with largely Hispanic and People of Color population, to have available life sustaining vaccines at their stores. Perth Amboy and Woodbridge represents a quarter of the Covid-19 cases in Middlesex County. Pfizer, Moderna, and soon Johnson and Johnson will have large quantities of vaccines.

Jewish Renaissance Medical Center and Raritan Bay Medical Center have begun the job of providing dosages (or potentially) for local people and healthcare staff. Large facilities such as Middlesex Vo-Tech, the Raritan Bay Area YMCA, and smaller Pharmacy locations such as Walgreens and Rite-Aid have promised cooperation in distributions.

I hope as many people as possible realize the need to get vaccinated to save lives and help our community. Our healthcare facilities cannot survive with an un-controlled deadly virus. I speak only for myself in this letter but feel the need to speak out. My letter will be sent to President Joe Biden’s representative in the Equity Task Force, Marcella Nunez-Smith, as well as local, state and national officials.

I am requesting that ShopRite allow for the use of their infrastructure (massive parking area), refrigeration capability and geographic location within walking distance of healthcare facilities for staff and community volunteers.

The surrounding towns cared by our medical institutions (Sayreville, South Amboy, Carteret, Woodbridge and the sister city Perth Amboy) represents a third of Covid cases in Middlesex County (Almost 24,000 people and over 520 deaths). Isn’t that reason enough to have a large-scale facility-area to provide the life-saving vaccine to our people?

In a city of 60,000 plus (approximately), a small-scale vaccine allocation is not enough.

Vince Mackiel