Day: May 8, 2020

Burlington, Mercer County, Middlesex County, Monmouth County, Ocean County

New Jersey Air National Guard To Conduct “NJ Salutes” Flyover To Honor COVID-19 Frontline Workers Tuesday

May 8, 2020 – updated

The New Jersey Air National Guard will be conducting a flyover to honor #COVID19 front line workers.

The 177th Fighter Wing and 108th Wing are partnering in the nationwide Air Force Salutes Flyover event, May 12 (weather date – May 13), to honor the men and women working on the front lines during the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic.

The flyover will feature three F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 177th Fighter Wing and a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 108th Wing. The flight begins at 11:20 a.m. and will cover key COVID-19 locations across New Jersey, to include testing sites, state veterans homes, hospitals and mortuary affairs.

Barring delays due to weather, air traffic or maintenance, residents can see the flyover at the following times and locations:

• Sea Girt – 11:30 a.m.
• PNC Arts Center – 11:35 a.m.
• Millstone – 11:40 a.m.
• NJ Convention Center – 11:45 a.m.
• Menlo Park – 11:46 – a.m.
• Kean University – 11:48 a.m.
• University Hospital – 11:48 a.m.
• Expo Center – 11:49 a.m.
• Bern County College/Paramus – 11:51 a.m.
• Vets Haven North – 12:01 p.m.
• New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs – 12:07 p.m.
• Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital – 12:13 p.m.
• U.S. Coast Guard Training Center – 12:27
• Atlantic City Convention Center – 12:32 p.m.

Listed times may vary slightly.

“Never underestimate the value of a morale boost when in combat. I want to thank the NJ Air Guard for its patriotic gesture and flyover in support of our first responder cohorts as we continue to battle COVID-19,” said Brig. Gen. Jemal Beale, Commander of the New Jersey National Guard and Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. “Jersey Strong!”

#AirForceSalutes #AFFlyover

United States Air Force I Air National Guard I 108th Wing

Two New Jersey Air National Guard wings are partnering in the nationwide Air Force Salutes Flyover, Tuesday, May 12, to honor the men and women working on the frontlines during the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic.

The flyover will feature a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 108th Wing and three F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 177th Fighter Wing. The flight begins at 11:20 a.m. and will end less than two hours later covering key COVID-19 locations across New Jersey to include testing sites, state veteran homes, hospitals and mortuary affairs. Air National Guard Airforce

Mercer County, Middlesex County, New Brunswick, Trenton

FDA Approves First At-Home Saliva Collection Test for Coronavirus

Emergency authorization granted to pioneering Rutgers lab and collaborators

May 8, 2020

NEW BRUNSWICK – Rutgers’ RUCDR Infinite Biologics received an amended emergency use authorization from the FDA late Thursday for the first SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus test that will allow people to collect their own saliva at home and send to a lab for results.

The decision follows the FDA’s recent emergency approval to RUCDR Infinite Biologics for the first saliva-based test, which involves health care workers collecting saliva from individuals at testing sites.

The new at-home saliva self-collection assay, developed by RUCDR in partnership with Spectrum Solutions and Accurate Diagnostic Labs, allows for broader screening than through the standard method using nose and throat swabs at a healthcare facility or testing location that requires a physical interaction with a healthcare professional.

“The impact of this approval means that not only do we no longer have to put healthcare professionals at risk for infection by performing nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal collections, we can now preserve precious PPE for use in patient care instead of testing and can significantly increase the number of people collected each and every day in places other than a healthcare setting,” said Andrew Brooks, chief operating officer and director of technology development at RUCDR, who also is a professor in the School of Arts and Sciences Department of Genetics at Rutgers University–New Brunswick.

“This will enable testing for people that do not have the means to get to a collection center and/or are at home because they are sick, quarantined, at increased risk for infection or simply concerned about exposing themselves by traveling to a collection site. This approach will have a significant impact on helping people in New Jersey and across the United States get back to work as we will be able to monitor large numbers of people in a variety of locations.”

This fully automated nucleic acid extraction workstation at Rutgers’ RUCDR Infinite Biologics can process up to 10,000 saliva samples per day for SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus testing. Photo: David Sokolowski