How NJ Teachers Will Get COVID Vaccines: New Information Released

NEW JERSEY — After months of back-and-forth Gov. Phil Murphy announced this week that he was expanding vaccine eligibility to teachers, daycare workers, and others earlier this week.

However, those who were already eligible will not lose their place in line, state officials said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

“The previously registered will stay in their queue,” New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said. “They will be first. The newly-eligible individuals will hopefully register, and they will be put into a line for when vaccines are available.”

This comes after President Joe Biden on Tuesday directing states to prioritize teachers for the vaccine.

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“You can’t just say, ‘Ok, how many teachers are there in the state, and say that that’s the group that’s coming online,” Murphy said. “There are a lot of teachers like a lot of us who have some chronic condition who are already eligible and in many cases have been vaccinated.”

See related: Coronavirus Vaccine Availability To Expand To NJ Teachers

Persichilli said she understands there will be continued frustration, but the state is trying to make sure everything is in order when the vaccine supply increases in the spring.

“We want to be able to jump on that pretty quickly,” Persichilli said.

The supply is expected to increase after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for emergency use. Murphy said he expects the first doses of that one-dose vaccine will be administered beginning Friday. Read more: NJ Expects Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine Doses By Next Week

“There’s real value for folks in a community to know when they can register, even if there is a supply and demand imbalance,” Murphy said. “The supply and demand imbalance will be greatest in the month of March, and then assuming the feds deliver what they say they are going to deliver, we are going to see a quantum shift in this.”

Beginning March 15, the following groups will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine:

• Educators, including support staff, in pre-K through 12th grade settings
• Childcare workers in licensed and registered settings
• Public and local transportation workers, including bus, taxi, rideshare, and airport employees; NJ TRANSIT workers; and Motor Vehicle Commission staff
• Public safety workers who are not sworn law enforcement or fire professionals, including probation officers and fire safety inspectors
• Migrant farm workers
• Members of tribal communities
• Individuals experiencing homelessness and those living in shelters, including domestic violence shelters

Beginning March 29, front-line essential workers in the following categories will also be eligible for vaccination:

• Food production, agriculture and food distribution (including grocery store and restaurant workers)
• Eldercare and support
• Warehousing and logistics
• Social services support staff
• Elections personnel
• Hospitality
• Medical supply chain
• Postal and shipping services
• Clergy
• Judicial system

As of Wednesday, there had been 2,190,179 COVID-19 vaccinations administered statewide, including about 740,000 who had already gotten their second dose.

With the recent expansion of eligibility, Persichilli said about 3.7 million New Jersey residents are now eligible to get vaccinated. New Jersey’s goal of having 70 percent of the public vaccinated in six months means 4.7 million people have to get vaccinated.

According to recent data, though, the state has some ground to make up to reach that goal. Read more here: NJ Lagging Behind In Vaccine Goal: See Latest Data

Teachers join a long list of those who are eligible for the vaccine, including:

• Healthcare Personnel: Paid and unpaid persons serving in health care settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials;
• Long-Term Care Residents and Staff: All residents and staff of long-term and congregate care facilities;
• First Responders: Sworn law enforcement, firefighters, and other first responders;
• Individuals at High Risk: Individuals aged 65 and older, and individuals ages 16-64 with medical conditions, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that increase the risk of severe illness from the virus; and
• Individuals who are pregnant and those in an immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant are also eligible but should follow CDC guidance and first discuss vaccination with their medical provider before receiving the vaccine.