NJ Expands COVID-19 Vaccines As State Begins Move Into Next Phase

Josh Bakan

NEW JERSEY — Gov. Phil Murphy announced on Wednesday that New Jersey will now make the COVID vaccines available to police and firefighters, signaling that the program is moving on to the next phase of distribution.

Previously, New Jersey provided vaccines to health-care professionals and long-term-care employees, along with some long-term care residents. But the availability for police and firefighters signals a shift from Phase 1A to 1B of New Jersey's vaccination plan. See more detail on each phase below.

State officials, however, didn't fully move into Phase 1B, which includes frontline essential workers and other high-risk groups. The only 1B group members eligible so far will be police and fire employees.

"They’re the ones who have to deal with our knuckleheads, especially at our superspreader event," Murphy said.

Murphy made the announcement as New Jersey and other parts of the country have lagged in getting the vaccines to their populations.

The governor said police and firefighters need the vaccines because "these are folks who have been just as much been in harm's way as many of our health care workers and they have been often called on for emergency medical support."

State officials announced Monday that only about 100,000 of its 400,000 doses had been administered. As of Wednesday afternoon's news briefing, 137,829 people have been vaccinated in New Jersey.

But state Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said the state will allow for some overlap in administering vaccines to certain groups.

A lag in vaccine distribution carries the risk of doses expiring. Pfizer vaccines, for example, last up to 30 days in their thermal shippers and up to six months in ultra-low-temperature freezers.

State officials don't anticipate any of New Jersey's doses expiring.

"We’re encouraging people not to throw those doses away," said former state Epidemiologist Dr. Eddy Bresnitz. "If you can’t find anybody in that phase, grab anybody you can and use those doses."

The state has now released a list that shows – in order – when everybody in New Jersey can get the COVID-19 vaccine. But officials haven't listed specific dates.

Murphy and health officials said the plan will continually be updated in response to the changing circumstances of the pandemic.

New Jersey's COVID-19 vaccination program aims to:

  • Provide equitable access to all who live, work, and/or are educated in New Jersey

  • Achieve community protection, assuming vaccine effectiveness, availability and uptake

  • Build sustainable trust in COVID-19 and other vaccines

The state's goal is to vaccinate 70 percent of the adult population – or 4.7 million adults – within six months.

Murphy said New Jersey is also developing a vaccine portal that will keep track of the immunization program. The site is not fully developed, but it can be found here.

Registration for the vaccination has begun, and the current link (found here) from the state Department of Health has been available.

These counties (and Princeton) have started vaccination programs, announced immunization sites or both:

State officials announced their intentions to expand as ShopRite also identified 39 new sites for COVID-19 vaccinations. See the New Jersey list here. Read more: 100K In NJ Now Vaccinated For COVID As State Looks To Expand

Murphy expressed hope that the vaccine will finally bring an end to the coronavirus pandemic, but he said New Jersey enters 2021 on "war footing" since more than 4,000 people are contracting the virus every day. Daily reports of fatalities have also reached a seven-month high. Read more: COVID Bills Signed Into Law As NJ Death Toll Hits 7-Month High

Once vaccine availability expands, vaccination will advance more fully to "Phase 1B," then "Phase 1C," and then "Phase 2," according to the state Department of Health.

Currently, Phase 1B of vaccination will include frontline essential workers and other high-risk groups; Phase 1C will include other essential workers, adults 65-74, and persons aged 16-64 with medical conditions that increase the risk for severe COVID-19 (see full list below).

Following these phases, the general public – Phase 2 – will be eligible for vaccination.

Here is the prioritization order for receiving the vaccine:

Phase 1A: Healthcare personnel

  • Hospital

  • LTC workers

  • Veteran’s home workers

  • Home care workers

  • Ambulatory and urgent care

  • clinic workers

  • Dialysis center workers

  • Dental office workers

  • Morticians and funeral home workers

  • Pharmacy workers

  • Other non-hospital healthcare facilities workers

  • Public health workers (such as those as federally qualified health centers)

  • Group home workers

  • Other paid and unpaid licensed and unlicensed healthcare workers

  • EMS personnel

  • Other healthcare settings

Phase 1A: Long-term care residents

  • Long-term care facilities

  • Veterans’ homes

  • Correctional facilities, prisons, juvenile centers, county jail

  • IDD group homes

  • Mental health group homes

  • Psychiatric hospitals

  • Other long-term care settings

Phase 1B: First responders

  • Police

  • Firefighters

  • Other first responders

Phase 1B: Other essential workers

  • Food-service workers

  • Port Authority workers

  • New Jersey Transit workers

  • Teachers, staff, and childcare workers

  • Workers who support radio, print, internet and television news and media services

  • Other critical workers

  • Other essential workers

Phase 1C: People at high-risk of COVID-19 illness

  • People at all ages with comorbid and underlying conditions that put them at high risk of COVID-19 (such as, hypertension, obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic lung disease, cancer, chronic kidney disease, immuno-compromised, sickle cell disease)

  • People living or working in congregate or overcrowded settings – such as colleges and universities

  • People living or working in congregate or overcrowded settings – such as migrant workers

  • People living or working in congregate or overcrowded settings

  • Tribal populations

  • Other people at high risk of COVID-19 illness due to comorbidities, occupations, demographics, etc.

Phase 1C: Elderly

  • People over 65

Phase 2

  • General public

New Jersey also provided a timeline for the various groups and when they'll be vaccinated:


This article originally appeared on the Basking Ridge Patch

Latest Stories

  • Republicans who cheered Trump's executive orders now grumble about 'record number' from Biden

    Over the past week, a growing number of Republicans began sounding the alarm about the number and content of executive orders being issued by President Joe Biden.

  • Black National Guardsman describes being deployed to protect Biden’s inauguration: 'I just felt this huge sense of pride'

    As most of the 25,000 National Guardsmen who were called upon to protect Washington, D.C., during the presidential inauguration began heading home this week, one Black service member agreed to speak to Yahoo News about the experience of protecting the nation’s capital in the wake of a pro-Trump riot on Capitol Hill. 

  • Doctor with terminal cancer kills paediatrician in hostage siege a childrens clinic

    A doctor with terminal cancer killed a female pediatrician and then himself after taking hostages at a children's clinic in Austin, Texas. Dr Bharat Narumanchi held hostages in a five-hour siege before killing Dr Katherine Lindley Dodson. Narumanchi had applied for a volunteer position at the clinic a week ago and was declined. He later came back carrying a pistol, a shotgun and two duffel bags. Police spokesman Jeff Greenwalt said Narumanchi had recently been given "weeks to live" after a cancer diagnosis. He said: "The case as far as who did this is closed. We know who did it. And we know that there's no longer a threat to the public. But we really, really want to answer the question of why." Dr Lindley Dodson, 43, was beloved by patients and their families. Karen Vladeck, whose two children were among her patients, told the Austin American-Statesman: "You saw her at your worst when your kid was sick, and she just always had a smile on her face. "She made you feel like you were the only parent there, even though there was a line of kids waiting." During the siege a SWAT team used a megaphone to communicate with the armed doctor. A hostage negotiator shouted: "Your life is very important to me. And I know life is very important to you. "You don't deserve to go through this. For all you have done for others. That is why I want to help you work through this. You have saved a lot of lives." Police first sent in a robot and then officers went into the medical office where they found two bodies. They did not comment on how the two doctors died. A police spokesman said: "The SWAT situation has ended. Two subjects have been located and were pronounced deceased."

  • Congress prepares for major fight over voting laws in the wake of Trump's false fraud claims

    Former President Donald Trump’s “big lie” about a stolen election may have been discredited over and over in the courts, and disgraced by the attack on the U.S. Capitol, but the corrosive effect of his dishonesty will linger on, complicating efforts to strengthen American elections.

  • Former Obama speechwriter "preemptively frustrated" with Biden's unity efforts

    President Obama's former speechwriter says he's "preemptively frustrated" with President Biden's effort to find unity with Republicans.What they're saying: Cody Keenan told Axios that Biden's messaging team has "struck all the right chords," but at some point "they're gonna have to answer questions like, 'Why didn't you achieve unity?' when there's an entire political party that's already acting to stop it."Get smarter, faster with the news CEOs, entrepreneurs and top politicians read. Sign up for Axios Newsletters here.Keenan spent 14 years writing for Obama, including working alongside Biden for eight of those years. He acknowledged being embittered by his own experience, especially after Sen. Mitch McConnell pledged to make his former boss a one-term president. * "Until the Republican Party steps up and tells their own voters what's really happening with the truth, it's going to be elusive," Keenan said. "It's not up to (President Biden) alone to deliver. He can't."Keenan helped Obama with the first volume of his memoir, "A Promised Land." He stopped working with the former president on New Year's Eve and has taken a full-time role at Fenway Strategies. The firm is run by another ex-Obama speechwriter — Jon Favreau — and presidential aide, Tommy Vietor. * "It just seemed like a natural spot after the book and the elections and, you know, [Obama] is not going to do a ton, especially with Biden in office," Keenan said.Keenan is also writing a book, titled "Grace," about the 10 days from the 2015 shooting at a historic Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, to the eulogy Obama delivered for Rev. Clementa Pinckney. * Obama ended by singing "Amazing Grace." * The title also nods to Keenan's newborn daughter, named Grace.Support safe, smart, sane journalism. Sign up for Axios Newsletters here.

  • Jill Biden spent her first week as First Lady reshaping the role. Melania Trump spent hers isolated in a tower

    New first lady signals she will be an active and constant presence in the White House - drawing stark contrasts to her predecessor

  • Far-Right 'Proud Boy' leader arrested ahead of Capitol riots revealed to have been police informer

    The leader of the Proud Boys extremist group has been unmasked as a "prolific" former FBI informant. Enrique Tarrio, 36, worked undercover exposing a human trafficking ring, and helped with drug and gambling cases, according to court documents. Tarrio's documented involvement with law enforcement related to the period 2012 -2014. There was no evidence of him cooperating after that. But the revelation raised further questions over why police did not take further steps to secure the US Capitol ahead of the riots on Jan 6. At least half a dozen members of the Proud Boys were arrested over involvement in the riots. Tarrio denied ever being an informer, telling Reuters: "I don’t know any of this. I don’t recall any of this."

  • Here Are The Brightest Decor Buys of the Season

    Let’s get loudOriginally Appeared on Architectural Digest

  • Iran's president criticizes prosecution of telecom minister

    Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday criticized Iran's hard-liner dominated judiciary over last week's prosecution of the countrys telecommunications minister. Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi was released on bail after he was summoned for prosecution. Judiciary officials cited his refusal to block Instagram and impose limitations on the bandwidth of other foreign social media and messaging systems.

  • U.S. judge blocks deportation freeze in swift setback for Biden

    A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday temporarily blocked a move by new U.S. President Joe Biden to halt the deportation of many immigrants for a 100-day period, a swift legal setback for his ambitious immigration agenda. U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton, an appointee of former President Donald Trump in the Southern District of Texas, issued a temporary restraining order that blocks the policy nationwide for 14 days following a legal challenge by Texas. The Biden administration is expected to appeal the ruling, which halts the deportation freeze while both parties submit briefs on the matter.

  • Grandmother ‘overjoyed’ to be outside after receiving Covid-19 vaccine killed in Portland vehicle attack

    Police have not released a motive in the attack

  • UN group says Sri Lanka virus cremation rule violates rights

    A group of U.N experts has criticized Sri Lanka's requirement that those who die of COVID-19 be cremated, even it goes against a family's religious beliefs, and warned that decisions based on “discrimination and aggressive nationalism” could incite hatred and violence. The experts, who are part of the Special Procedures of the U.N Human Rights Council, said in a statement Monday that rule amounts to a human rights violation. “We deplore the implementation of such public health decisions based on discrimination, aggressive nationalism and ethnocentrism amounting to persecution of Muslims and other minorities in the country,” the experts said.

  • Russia, U.S. extend arms pact, Kremlin says, as Biden, Putin talk

    Russia and the United States have struck a deal to extend the New START nuclear arms control treaty, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, a move that preserves the last major pact of its kind between the world's two biggest nuclear powers. The White House did not immediately confirm the Kremlin's announcement but said President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin had discussed the issue by telephone and agreed that their teams work urgently to complete the extension by Feb. 5, when the treaty expires. Signed in 2010, the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) is a cornerstone of global arms control.

  • Let's Answer Dr. Jill Biden's Call to 'Join Forces'

    "Our veterans, families and caregivers will benefit from the return of Joining Forces, and our nation will as well."

  • Singapore detains 16-year-old over plans to attack mosques

    Authorities in Singapore have detained without trial a 16-year-old student who made detailed plans and preparations to carry out “terrorist attacks” on two mosques with a machete. The Singaporean teen was inspired by an Australian white supremacist who killed 51 worshippers at two mosques in New Zealand in 2019, the Internal Security Department said Wednesday. The teen detained in December was the youngest terror suspect to be held under the country's Internal Security Act, it added.

  • Biden showed his years of Senate experience by winning a filibuster fight without saying a word

    Analysis: Biden had nothing to gain and everything to lose from fighting a quixotic war over the filibuster just days into his presidency.

  • Raging virus, few shots. How Brazil missed its chance to secure COVID-19 vaccines

    Weeks after other Latin American countries began inoculating their citizens against coronavirus, Brazil finally administered its first shot on Jan. 17 using China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd vaccine. With efficacy of just over 50% - barely above Brazil's threshold for regulatory approval - the Chinese shot was not the government's first choice. The country's principle strategy - to manufacture 100 million doses of the AstraZeneca PLC vaccine locally - has been plagued by repeated delays.

  • Biden administration has system in place where reporters will not ask president tough questions: Media critic

    Steve Krakauer, editor at Fourth Watch, says 'it shouldn't be contingent' on one reporter to ask Biden tough questions.

  • McCarthy to House Republicans: "Cut this crap out"

    House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy's warning comes as some of his colleagues are organizing an effort to oust Representative Liz Cheney.

  • Alaska to investigate issuance of offensive license plate

    An Alaska department plans to investigate the issuance of “3REICH” personalized license plates, while a spokesperson for Gov. Mike Dunleavy said Dunleavy removed a member of Alaska's Human Rights Commission for comments she made about the controversy. The issue drew attention after a former newspaper editor, Matt Tunseth, posted a picture of the plate on social media. Debate over the issue gained traction on social media and blogs over the weekend, and Department of Administration Commissioner Kelly Tshibaka announced Monday that she was ordering a review of Division of Motor Vehicles' processes to determine how the plates were issued.