New Jersey: Indian Health Camp of New Jersey – IHCNJ, a non-profit organization organized COVID-19 vaccine drives at Balaji Temple in Bridgewater on May 1, 2021 and Swaminarayan Temple in South Brunswick on May 8, 2021, where about 100 people received vaccinations offered by Ritesh Shah of Legacy Pharmacy Group – Bayshore and Ramtown Pharmacy. Both the temple management and their volunteers provided their support and services to this worthy cause.
South Brunswick Mayor Charles Carley, Deputy Mayor Joe Camarota, former Mayor of Montgomery Township Sadaf Jaffer and South Brunswick School Board Member Joyce Mehta were among the elected officials who attended the vaccine drive to extend their support to Indian Health Camp of New Jersey’s continued efforts of community health outreach. A proclamation from South Brunswick Mayor and Council was presented during the vaccine drive on May 8, 2021. Ritesh Shah, owner of four independent pharmacies in Central Jersey and CEO of Legacy Pharmacy Group, a group purchasing organization for independent pharmacies has been practicing pharmacy in New Jersey for more than 20 years. When COVID-19 hit the U.S. in 2020, he and his team began setting up testing stations in their pharmacies and other locations in the communities. To date, Legacy Pharmacy Group has tested more than 250,000 people and even before New Jersey pharmacists got access to vaccines, Shah had pre-registered nearly 100,000 individuals for them. A long-time public health advocate, Shah has relationships with NJ State Health Department officials and lawmakers and spends a good deal of his time educating them about the needs of his patients. In October 2020, Shah received a commendation from the Governor of New Jersey, a state Senator and the General Assembly for his efforts in helping educate the public, testing for COVID-19 and helping prevent the spread of the disease. “We are all in this together,” Shah said. “As pharmacists, we must do all it takes to make our communities safer. It’s not only our responsibility, it’s an obligation.”
Dr. Mona Mody, Dr. Prema Prasad, Asha Shah, Shirish Parekh, IHCNJ Vice President, Avani Patel and Peggy Rizzo of Ramtown Pharmacy and Nelly Fuzaylov and Aleena Mehdi of Bayshore Pharmacy extended their services during the vaccine drive.
