NJ Lawmaker: J&J Pause Affirms We Should Not Mandate Vaccine

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — A New Jersey lawmaker who is fighting to prevent Rutgers from requiring its students get the coronavirus vaccine said the FDA's recommendation this week to pause the Johnson & Johnson shot only solidified her position against vaccine mandates.

"Absolutely it did," said NJ13 Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso, a Republican who represents Monmouth County. "We don't know enough about this vaccine. It also seems like it's young people who are having the problems with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. If there were six cases reported so far, how many aren't being reported?"

DiMaso also said she is working with state Senator Mike Testa (R-Cumberland County) to introduce a bill that would ban vaccine passports in New Jersey. States such as Florida and Texas have banned them; vaccine passports are currently being tested in New York City.

"It's a HIPPA violation. I have to let you know my health status?" she said. "That's why we have HIPPA. I think there are a lot of silent people out there who would support this."

Testa plans to introduce the vaccine passport ban in the state Senate in the last week of April; she will introduce her Assembly version in May. A vaccine passport ban would require Gov. Murphy's signature; he has said he would be "open minded" to them.

Rutgers has previously said they are mandating vaccines for student safety, because their age group is very social and also because students travel back home a lot to see older family members, who may be more vulnerable.

The federal government ordered the J&J pause Tuesday, after six people, all women, developed serious blood clots, plus low blood platelet levels, within six to 13 days of getting the Johnson & Johnson shot. The women are between the ages of 18 and 48. All had to be hospitalized; one woman died.

One of those six women was a 26-year-old Pennsylvania resident who was hospitalized here in New Jersey; she developed several clots in major blood vessels in her brain and lungs a week after getting the shot. She has since been released.

Some states in America are still giving out the J&J shot and, as of Friday, about seven million Johnson & Johnson vaccines have been given.

"Now six out of seven million is really not that many. That's really not a lot," said DiMaso, who reiterated that she herself was vaccinated in early spring, with Pfizer. "I wonder if the CDC knows more than we do, or if there is something they are not telling us. I just don't believe we should mandate this vaccine, especially for young people when it's not deadly for them at all."

As Patch reported, DiMaso is introducing a bill in Trenton that would require Rutgers to pay students if they require them to get the coronavirus vaccine. So far, Rutgers and Fairleigh Dickinson are the only two schools that said they will require the vaccine for students, but not teachers.

Rowan and Stockton said they not require the shot, and other major New Jersey colleges, such as NJIT, Princeton and the College of New Jersey, have not publicly announced a stance.

"I just don't think the government should be forcing vaccines: That is not the government's job," said DiMaso. "My stance has always been this should be a decision between you and your physician."

Rutgers already requires all its students show proof of the typical childhood vaccinations, such as MMR, TB and hepatitis B. Rutgers also requires the meningitis vaccine, which is relatively new, for students living on campus their first year. After that, students are not required to get it.

Coronavirus cases are still surging in New Jersey, despite many being vaccinated: Monmouth County had 239 new cases on Friday, and six new deaths. Nationwide, there have been 561,000 coronavirus deaths out of 31 million total cases as of April 15.

DiMaso is running for re-election this year and she is also running for her political life, as she — in very public fashion — lost the support of the powerful Monmouth County Republican Party.

She is running in the NJ 13 Republican primary this June, and will face off against Gerry Scharfenberger and Vicky Flynn, backed by the county GOP.

The 13th legislative district is a traditionally red-leaning part of New Jersey and is made up of Aberdeen, Atlantic Highlands, Fair Haven, Hazlet, Highlands, Holmdel, Keansburg, Keyport, Little Silver, Marlboro, Middletown, Monmouth Beach, Oceanport, Sea Bright, Rumson and Union Beach.

Ongoing coverage: GOP Lawmaker Said She Plans To Fight Rutgers' Vaccine Mandate (March 29)

Rutgers Will Require COVID-19 Vaccines For All Students (March 25)

Rutgers Faculty Union Head Responds To Students' Vaccine Mandate (April 9)

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