During a coronavirus meeting on Friday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy spoke out against the “false narrative” that smokers were getting the COVID-19 vaccine instead of other essential workers.
As reported by NJ Advanced Media, Garden State has expanded its vaccination program to also include 2 million smokers between 16 and 64 years old. The expansion has enabled people in this age group to have pre-existing diseases such as cancer, advanced kidney failure and more. The expansion makes about 4.47 million people, about half of the state’s population, eligible for vaccination.
Some people criticized the move, believing that smokers were being prioritized over teachers. CBS New York reported that Teach NJ, a part of the Teach Coalition that “defends[s] for equitable government funding for private schools in New Jersey, “he had asked teachers to be ahead of smokers.
So 2 million smokers in New Jersey can get the vaccine before my wife, who is a teacher and must teach in person four full days a week ??
– Joel Eden, PhD (@joeleden) January 14, 2021
Murphy responded to the accusations at a news conference and a topic on Twitter. He said that the charges that smokers were jumping in front of teachers was a misleading “cheap move”.
“I have to resist a false narrative that is out there in some circles that we are vaccinating smokers while we are not vaccinating another group, be it our blessing of heroic educators or other incredibly important and heroic essential workers,” he said.
At the briefing, Murphy said that about 100,000 doses of the vaccine were being brought into the state each week and providing the vaccine to high-risk residents was a priority, and that the decision was in line with CDC guidelines.
“We cannot lose sight of a critical medical fact that it is a respiratory virus. Our goal from day one was to fight to save all possible lives and to make our decisions based on facts, science, medicine. a simple fact, whether we like it or not, that smoking like other chronic and medical conditions puts someone at greater risk for a more serious case of COVID, “he said.
He also noted that providing vaccines to those at risk is an attempt to prevent people from being hospitalized, as the coronavirus is a respiratory disease.
“I understand the view here and that attacking people who have acquired the habit of smoking and who are now addicted can be politically viable. But right now, we are stuck in a position where we have to prioritize limited federal production – or less distributed – doses of vaccines based on medical facts, not political desires. We need to save lives and we need to protect our hospitals, moreover, from a sudden increase in patients, “he said.
Murphy also noted that teachers are included in expanded vaccine eligibility, as are transit workers, grocery workers and other frontline workers.
Let’s be clear: in our new eligibility, we are vaccinating educators, public transport workers, grocery workers and many other frontline workers.
I understand the point here, and that attacking people who have acquired the habit of smoking and who are now addicted can be politically convenient.
– Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) January 15, 2021
As previously reported, the national distribution of the COVID vaccine has been criticized and considered “extremely poor”, with a few exceptions. President-elect Joe Biden has promised to distribute 100 million doses in the first 100 days.
Newsweek contacted the governor’s office for comment.
TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP / Getty