NJ Mandates COVID Vaccine For Health Care, Long-Term Care Workers

Josh Bakan
Updated ·3 min read
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NEW JERSEY — Gov. Phil Murphy issued an executive order Wednesday that will require employees in health care settings or "high-risk congregate" environments to receive COVID-19 vaccinations and booster shots. Workers in those settings will soon lose the choice to opt out of the requirement by undergoing weekly testing.

Health care workers who remain unvaccinated have until Jan. 27 to get their first dose and must complete their primary vaccination series by Feb. 28. High-risk, congregate employees have to receive their first dose by Feb. 28 and their second by March 30.

Those eligible for a booster shot and haven't received it yet have until the following deadlines to get it: Feb. 28 for health care workers and March 30 for employees in congregate settings. Workers who will become booster-eligible after the cutoffs will have to receive the shot within their first three weeks of booster eligibility.

COVID-19 vaccine exemptions are only available for medical reasons or "deeply held" religious beliefs, Murphy said Wednesday.

"Anyone found in non-compliance will be subject to their workplace’s disciplinary process — up to and including termination of employment," Murphy said.

In August, Murphy gave the same employees until Sept. 7 to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19. But those who didn't would receive testing at least weekly.

The August executive order included the following work settings:

  • Acute, pediatric, inpatient rehabilitation and psychiatric hospitals, including specialty hospitals, and ambulatory surgical centers.

  • Long-term care facilities, including the state veterans homes.

  • Intermediate-care facilities, including the state developmental centers.

  • Residential detox, short-term and long-term residential substance abuse disorder treatment facilities.

  • Clinic-based settings such as ambulatory care, urgent care clinics, dialysis centers, federally qualified health centers, family planning sites and opioid treatment programs

  • Community-based health care settings including the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, and pediatric and adult medical day care programs.

  • Licensed home health agencies and registered health care service firms operating within the state.

  • State and county correctional facilities.

  • Secure care facilities operated by the Juvenile Justice Commission.

  • Licensed community residences for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

  • Licensed community residences for adults with mental illness.

  • Certified day programs for individuals with IDD and TBI.

For now, the state has no plans to extend vaccine mandates to anyone else.

"We have no plans at this time to expand this to beyond what we just discussed today, which is health care workers and congregant living facilities," he said.

Murphy noted that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a requirement from President Joe Biden's administration for all health care workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Supreme Court made the ruling Thursday on a 5-4 vote.

Some Republican legislators have criticized Murphy's latest executive order, saying it will exacerbate worker shortages in settings such as hospitals and nursing homes.

“Nursing homes, group homes and veterans homes are already struggling to find enough skilled staff to care for New Jersey’s most vulnerable residents,” said state Sen. Anthony M. Bucco. “By eliminating the testing alternative to vaccination for workers in these settings, Governor Murphy is virtually guaranteeing that residents will face a shortage of caregivers. That will lead to unnecessary tragedies in facilities that have already sustained thousands of deaths during the pandemic.”

State Sen. Holly Schepisi added: “Doctors, nurses, and other medical caregivers have been fighting this fight against COVID-19 since the very beginning. After nearly two years, they’re tired, they’re burnt out, and they’re ready for a break. Instead of giving them extra support, they’re getting another new mandate from Governor Murphy that will further thin their ranks and increase the workload of those who remain."

This article originally appeared on the Morristown Patch