N.J. wants 70% of adults to get COVID-19 vaccine in 6 months once available

New Jersey will aim to have 70% of its adult population vaccinated within six months once a COVID-19 vaccine is approved and available, state officials announced Monday.

To reach that lofty goal, about 81,000 of the Garden State’s nine million residents would have to be vaccinated each day for five days a week, state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said during a virtual coronavirus briefing in which officials laid out the first draft of New Jersey’s vaccination plan.

That’s about 3,200 people a day five days every week in each of the state’s 21 counties, Persichilli added.

By comparison, about 50% of New Jersey’s population receives the flu vaccine, and a little over 70% of those are children, she said.

A coronavirus vaccine is not expected to be mandatory, officials said. But Gov. Phil Murphy stressed “we’ve got to make sure vaccine compliance is high."

The comments came as the state publicly unveiled a 182-page vaccination plan that it submitted to the federal Centers for Disease Control on Oct. 16, Murphy stressed that this is a “work in progress” that could change, but he insisted New Jersey is prepared for whenever a vaccine is set to be distributed, likely in the coming months.

“I am proud today to be able to say these four words: We will be ready," he said.

Still, Murphy stressed that New Jersey will need federal help with funding.

“Let me be clear: If we do not receive any additional funds, achieving a 70% vaccination rate will take many years, if it happens at all,” he said.

Another challenge, Murphy said, will be to cut through “anti-vaccine noise” and convince people the vaccine will be safe.

“We cannot let the online rumors and social-media-driven conspiracy theories jeopardize our ability to build statewide immunity against this deadly virus,” the governor said. “We know from public polling that there is already growing skepticism of a vaccine — and in the face of this virus, that skepticism could prove to be as deadly as the virus itself. We are committed to building trust in the vaccines in all our communities, and we will not wait until we receive the vaccines to start that process.”

Murphy emphasized that New Jersey will not “simply rush forward” on a vaccine and will instead be “methodical and deliberate" to make sure it’s safe.

“If we, based on all the experts, conclude beyond any reasonable doubt that this is safe and efficacious and it can be scaled and delivered in the proper way, we need folks to do their part," he said. “We will not put anything on the street that we can’t say all those things about.”

The federal government will likely make limited quantities of the vaccine available at first, Persichilli said. It’s unclear how many doses New Jersey would get.

Persichilli said it’s then up to the state to determine who will receive the initial allotments.

Under New Jersey’s plan, the first batches likely be reserved for healthcare workers who have potential exposure to the virus and those who are at higher risk. That includes people 65 and older, those with pre-existing medical conditions, people who live in group settings such as prisons and psychiatric hospitals, and essential workers who can’t practice social distancing — such as law enforcement personnel, food packaging and distribution workers, teachers and school staff, and child-care workers.

Officials said a big goal is making sure the vaccine is given out equitably, regardless of race or social status.

“We will work to quickly move across population segments and deliver vaccines into the communities that were hardest hit, not just those that are easiest to reach,” Murphy said.

“So we will ensure a data-driven process that will focus on prioritization of those at highest risk of infection, our vulnerable communities, and those for whom early inoculation would have the greatest benefit and build out from there,” he added.

The announcement came a week after New York laid out its vaccination plan.

New Jersey has been among the American states hit hardest by the virus. COVID-19 has killed more than 16,000 residents in nearly eight months.

Like many parts of the country, New Jersey has also been dealing with spikes in new cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks. On Monday, state officials announced 1,223 more cases and seven additional deaths, while hospitalizations reached a nearly four-month high.

https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/10/nj-wants-70-of-adults-to-get-covid-19-vaccine-in-6-months-once-its-available.html