NJ Releases New Priority List for COVID Vaccines; Teachers on the bridge

Murphy, speaking with MSNBC Thursday night, suggested that teachers would likely be next on the list as long as New Jersey can get more federal funding to distribute the vaccine.

Murphy reiterated his point at a press conference on Friday, saying, “I promise you: we (need) to get more supply.”

“I will take our blessed and heroic educators as an example: they are on the bridge,” he said. “We are eager to reach the general population.

Murphy said he hopes the new Biden administration, which announced plans to pass a major COVID-19 vaccine funding and distribution package on Thursday, will get there. (see the new state vaccination plan below).

“They are in the circle of the bridge,” Murphy told MSNBC of teachers, “and we need the federal supply to increase.”

Murphy told MSNBC he would like to expand vaccine distribution to more people, but “it’s hard to be satisfied when you have supplies coming from the federal government that are much smaller than what we promised.”

Murphy also said there had been “a lot of delay in providing the data,” which may explain why 654,000 doses were reportedly sent to New Jersey, but only 277,000 were administered.

“We are not sitting on any supply,” he said. “There is no state warehouse. Every dose is at a distribution point or at a CVS or Walgreens store.”

Murphy said New Jersey followed the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “quite consistently in determining how to distribute the vaccine.

“We’re going to go to educators, I hope, as soon as possible and, again, an increase in the federal supply will help us get there faster,” he said.

New Jersey is gradually rolling out COVID-19 vaccines to serve all adults who live, work or are educated in the state, officials said.

The state’s goal is to immunize 70 percent of the adult population – or 4.7 million adults – in six months. While the state’s current plan is highlighted below, the plan will be continually updated in response to the changing circumstances of the pandemic, officials said.

To determine which phase of vaccination you are in and be notified when you are eligible for a vaccine, pre-register for the vaccine.

Who is eligible for vaccination at this time?

Currently, vaccines are available for the following groups:

Health personnel (Phase 1A)

Paid and unpaid individuals serving in healthcare settings who may be exposed directly or indirectly to patients or infectious material, including, but not limited to:

• Licensed health professionals such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists and dentists
• Staff such as receptionists, janitors, mortuary services, laboratory technicians
• Consultants, per diems and contractors who are not directly employed by the establishment
• 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
• Staff with varying locations such as EMS, paramedics, funeral staff, and autopsy officers
• All workers in acute, pediatric and behavioral health hospitals and outpatient surgery centers
• All workers in health facilities such as psychiatric establishments, federally approved health centers and rehabilitation centers
• All workers in clinical settings such as emergency care clinics, dialysis centers and family planning sites
• All workers in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, assisted living facilities, group homes and others
• All workers in occupational health care facilities such as workplace health clinics, shelters, prisons, colleges and universities, and K-12 schools
• All workers in community health care facilities such as PACE and Adult Living Community Nursing
• All workers in home settings such as palliative care, home care and visiting nurse services
• All employees of health care facilities in office such as physician and dental offices
• All workers in public health facilities such as local health departments, LINCS agencies, harm reduction centers, and medical marijuana programs
• All workers in retail, independent and institutional pharmacies
• Other paid or unpaid people who work in a health care facility, who may have direct or indirect contact with infectious people or materials, and who cannot work from home.

Long-term care residents and staff (Phase 1A)

All residents and staff of long-term and group care facilities, including:

• Qualified nursing care facilities
• Veterans homes
• Group homes such as residential care homes, adult family homes, adult foster homes, and developmental and developmental disability group homes
• HUD 202 Supportive Housing for Seniors Program Residences
• Institutions such as mental hospitals, correctional facilities, county jails, and juvenile detention centers (for eligible minors, for example 16 years of age and over may be eligible for the Pfizer vaccine under the Authorization for Use emergency)
• Other vulnerable, congregated and long-term environments

First responders (phase 1B)

Sworn law enforcement, firefighters and other first responders including:

• New Jersey State Police Soldiers
• Municipal and departmental police officers
• Campus police officers
• Detectives in prosecutor’s offices and state agencies
• State agency / authority law enforcement officers (such as State Park Police and Conservation Officers, Palisades Interstate Parkway Officers, Social Services Police, and NJ Transit Police )
• Investigator, parole officers and secure institutions
• Aviation operations specialists
• Sworn Federal Law Enforcement Officers and Special Constables
• Law enforcement officers in both states (such as the port authority)
• Judicial security officers
• Paid and unpaid members of firefighting services (structural and wild)
• Paid and unpaid members of search and rescue units, including technical rescue units and HAZMAT teams
• Paid and unpaid firefighters who provide emergency medical services
• Paid and unpaid members of industrial units that perform fire, rescue and HAZMAT services
• Members of the state fire marshal’s offices
• Fire service personnel from both states (such as the port authority)

People at high risk (phase 1B)

People aged 65 and older and people aged 16 to 64 with health conditions, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that increase the risk of serious illness from the virus. These conditions include:

• Cancer
• Chronic kidney disease
• COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
• Down syndrome
• Heart disease, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
• Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg / m2 or more but <40 kg / m2)
• Severe obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg / m2)
• Sickle cell anemia
• Smoking
• Type 2 diabetes mellitus

Pregnant people and those who are in an immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) following a solid organ transplant are also eligible, but should follow CDC guidelines and discuss vaccination first with their doctor before receiving the drug. vaccine.

If you are currently eligible, click here for more information on vaccination locations.

Who is then eligible for vaccination?

• Additional essential frontline workers (Phase 1B)
• Other essential workers and people living in assembly places (Phase 1C)
• General population (phase 2)

This group has been designated as 1B and will likely be next:

• Catering workers
• Port authority workers
• New Jersey Transit Workers
• Teachers, staff and educators
• Workers who support radio, print, Internet and television news and media services
• Other critical workers (CISA)
• Other essential workers

This group was originally designated as 1C:

• People living or working in crowded or crowded places – such as colleges and universities
• People living or working in congregational or overcrowded places – such as migrant workers
• People living or working in places of assembly or overcrowding – other tribal populations
• Other people at high risk of COVID-19 disease due to co-morbidities, occupations, demographics, etc.

NOTE: Vaccination phases are provisional and subject to change. Movement between phases of immunization eligibility can be fluid. One phase can overlap with another. Not all individuals in each phase will be vaccinated until they are opened to additional groups, and not all groups in a specific phase will be eligible to receive the vaccine at the same time.

An announcement regarding when other essential frontline workers and those at high risk will be eligible for the vaccine under Phases 1B and 1C will be coming soon, officials said.

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