COVID Vaccines Will Expand To NJ Residents 16 And Older

NEW JERSEY — There’s a big leap coming for coronavirus vaccination efforts in New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy announced during a news conference on Monday.

According to Murphy, the state will be opening its vaccination list to people 16 and older starting on Monday, April 19. The announcement came as the state expanded its list to people 55 and up, in addition to several other groups (see below).

“We believe we can responsibly move that date up from May 1 to April 19, and at that point, make this available to anyone 16 and over,” Murphy said.

Murphy said the expansion is 12 days ahead of schedule, "but given the trajectory we are on, we believe this is the right time to put our program into a higher gear."

New Jersey recently added a "vaccine appointment finder" that can be seen here. Find out if you are eligible here.

Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said New Jersey is getting an increasing number of vaccines, saying 550,000 doses were expected to arrive in the Garden State this week.

Of those, 131,600 are coming from Johnson & Johnson, 241,000 will be from Pfizer and 179,000 from Moderna, she said.

"Coupled together, this has better positioned our state to be able to expand through our over 770 vaccine sites," she said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

As of Monday, there have been 815,007 cumulative, confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New Jersey. There have been 22,069 confirmed deaths linked to the disease, according to the state department of health.

According to Murphy, 1,796,798 New Jersey residents are fully vaccinated. The total puts the state 38 percent of the way towards its goal of 4.7 million fully vaccinated adults by June 30.

EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY

On Monday, New Jersey’s eligibility list for a vaccine expanded yet again. Read More: COVID-19 Vaccine Availability Expands Again In NJ: What To Know

The governor said that the latest expansion to people over 55 will include himself and first lady Tammy Murphy, and that they both plan to pursue their vaccinations.

New groups who qualify for a COVID-19 vaccine include:

• Individuals 55 and over
• Individuals ages 16 and up with intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Educators, including support staff, in higher education settings
• Communications infrastructure support, including engineers, and technicians and members of the press
• Real estate, building, and home service workers, including construction workers, code officials, plumbers, electricians, HVAC technicians, property management and maintenance workers
• Retail financial institution workers, including bank tellers, lending services, public accounting and check-cashing workers
• Sanitation workers providing disinfection and janitorial services, city sanitation workers; residential, commercial, and industrial solid and hazardous waste removal workers
• Laundry service workers, including those working in laundromats, laundry services and dry cleaners
• Utility workers including electrical generation and supply system, natural gas delivery, nuclear power plant, water supply, telephone and cable/fiber/optical/broadband/cellular service workers
• Librarians and support staff at municipal, county and state libraries

Read more: Where To Get The Coronavirus Vaccine In New Jersey

For more vaccine information, visit our New Jersey COVID-19 Vaccination Hub.

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