NEW JERSEY – Governor Murphy says teachers are “ready” for immunization now that New Jersey has launched a new priority list for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Murphy, speaking to MSNBC on Thursday, suggested that teachers are probably next on the list, as long as New Jersey can get more funding from the federal government to distribute the vaccine.
Murphy reiterated his point during a press conference on Friday, saying, “I promise you: we (need) to get more supplies.”
“I will take our blessed and heroic educators as an example: they are on deck,” he said. “We can’t wait to reach a wider population.
Murphy said he is hopeful that the new Biden administration, which announced plans to approve a sizable COVID-19 vaccine and financial package on Thursday, will make it happen. (see the new state vaccine plan below).
“They are on the deck circle,” Murphy told MSNBC about the teachers, “and we need the federal supply to grow.”
Murphy told MSNBC that he would like to extend the distribution of the vaccine to more people, but “it is difficult to be satisfied when you have supplies coming out of the feds that are much less than we were promised.”
Murphy also said there was “a long delay in data reporting”, which could explain why 654,000 doses were reportedly sent to New Jersey, but only 277,000 were administered.
“We are not losing any stocks,” he said. “There is no state deposit. Each dose is at a distribution point or at a CVS or Walgreens store.”
Murphy said New Jersey has been following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines “very strictly in determining how to distribute the vaccine.
“We will reach educators, I hope, sooner or later, and again, more federal offers will help us get there faster,” he said.
New Jersey is launching COVID-19 vaccines step-by-step to serve all adults living, working or being educated in the state, officials said.
The state’s goal is to vaccinate 70% of the adult population – or 4.7 million adults – in six months. Although the state’s current plan is highlighted below, the plan will be continuously updated in response to new circumstances of the pandemic, officials said.
To determine what stage of vaccination you are in and to be notified when you are eligible for a vaccine, pre-register for the vaccine.
Who is eligible for vaccination at this time?
Vaccines are currently available for the following groups:
Health personnel (Phase 1A)
Paid and unpaid persons working in health facilities with the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials, including, but not limited to:
- Licensed health professionals, such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists and dentists
- Employees such as receptionists, janitors, mortuary services, laboratory technicians
- Consultants, daily and contractors who are not directly employed by the facility
- Unpaid workers, such as student health professionals, interns, volunteers and essential caregivers
- Community health workers, doulas and public health professionals such as the Medical Reserve Corps
- Personnel with varying locations, such as EMS, paramedics, funeral staff and autopsy workers
- All workers in acute, pediatric and behavioral health hospitals and outpatient surgical centers
- All workers in health facilities, such as psychiatric facilities, Federally Qualified Health Centers and rehabilitation clinics
- All workers in clinic-based environments, such as urgent care clinics, dialysis centers and family planning locations
- All workers in long-term care settings, such as nursing homes, assisted living facilities, group homes and others
- All workers in occupational health settings, such as health clinics in the workplace, shelters, prisons, colleges and universities, and elementary and high schools
- All workers in community-based health settings, such as PACE and Adult Living Community Nursing
- All workers in home environments, such as hospice, home care and visiting nursing services
- All workers in office-based health settings, such as doctors and dental offices
- All workers in public health settings, such as local health departments, LINCS agencies, harm reduction centers and medical marijuana programs
- All workers in retail pharmacies, independent and institutional
- Other paid or unpaid people who work in a health facility, who may have direct or indirect contact with people or infectious materials and who cannot work at home.
Residents and long-term care workers (Phase 1A)
All residents and employees of long-term care and congregation facilities, including:
- Qualified nursing facilities
- Veterans Homes
- Homes for groups, such as residential homes, family homes for adults, foster homes for adults, and homes for groups for the intellectually disabled
- HUD 202 Support Housing for Senior Citizens Program Residences
- Institutional environments such as psychiatric hospitals, correctional institutions, municipal prisons and juvenile detention centers (for eligible minors, for example, 16 years of age or older may be eligible for the Pfizer vaccine under emergency use authorization)
- Other vulnerable, congregated and long-term environments
First responders (Phase 1B)
Law enforcement officers, firefighters and other sworn rescuers, including:
- New Jersey State Police Soldiers
- Municipal and district police officers
- Campus policemen
- Detectives in state prosecutors and agencies
- State law enforcement agencies / authorities (such as State Park Police and Conservation officers, Palisades Interstate Parkway officers, Human Services police and NJ traffic police)
- Investigators, probation and security officers
- Aeronautical operations specialists
- Sworn federal policemen and special agents
- Bi-state policemen (such as the Port Authority)
- Court security officers
- Paid and unpaid members of fire-fighting services (structural and forestry)
- Paid and unpaid members of search and rescue units, including technical rescue units and HAZMAT teams
- Paid and unpaid firefighters providing emergency medical services
- Paid and unpaid members of industrial units that perform fire, rescue and HAZMAT services
- Members of the offices of the State Fire Department
- Bi-state fire service personnel (such as the Port Authority)
High-risk individuals (Phase 1B)
Individuals aged 65 and over and individuals aged 16 to 64 with medical conditions, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which increase the risk of serious illnesses caused by the virus. These conditions include:
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Down’s syndrome
- Heart problems such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies
- Obesity (body mass index [BMI] 30 kg / m2 or greater, but <40 kg / m2)
- Severe obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg / m2)
- Sickle cell anemia
- Smoke
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
Individuals who are pregnant and those in an immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) of solid organ transplantation are also eligible, but must follow CDC guidelines and first discuss vaccination with their doctor before receiving the vaccine.
If you are currently eligible, click here for more information on where to be vaccinated.
Who is next eligible for vaccination?
- Additional essential frontline workers (Phase 1B)
- Other essential workers and people living in congregated environments (Phase 1C)
- General population (Phase 2)
This group has been designated as 1B and is likely to be the next:
- Foodservice workers
- Port authority workers
- New Jersey Transit workers
- Teachers, staff and caregivers of children
- Workers supporting news and radio media, print, internet and television services
- Other critical workers (CISA)
- Other essential workers
This group was originally designated as 1C:
- People who live or work in crowded or crowded environments, such as colleges and universities
- People who live or work in crowded or overcrowded environments – such as migrant workers
- People living or working in congregated or overcrowded environments – other tribal populations
- Other people at high risk of COVID-19 disease due to comorbidities, occupations, demographics, etc.
NOTE: The vaccination phases are provisional and subject to change. The movement between phases of eligibility for vaccination can be fluid. One phase can overlap another. Not all individuals in each phase will be vaccinated before opening to additional groups, and not all groups within a specific phase will be eligible to receive the vaccine at the same time.
An announcement about when other essential frontline workers and high-risk individuals will be eligible for the Phase 1B and Phase 1C vaccine will be launched, officials said.
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