It is now known how many children
have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in New Jersey, and the numbers could give
an idea on when the school mask mandate will be lifted, according to Gov. Phil
Murphy.
During his COVID-19 briefing Monday,
Gov. Murphy remarked that 60% of eligible 12 to 17-year-olds in the state have been
vaccinated. The governor also indicated the mask mandate would likely first be
dropped in high schools.
The governor says the state is
going in the right direction when it comes to the number of positive cases and
the number of vaccinations. Cases continue to fall and vaccinations are
up.
Out of 650,000 eligible 12 to 17-year-olds,
260,000 have yet to be vaccinated. When it comes to 5 to 11-year-olds who just
recently became eligible, that number is much smaller, less than 10,000 kids
out of the eligible population of 760,000 received a vaccine shot.
Health commissioner Judy
Persichelli says she wants the numbers higher.
Gov. Murphy says he's looking at a
tiered approach when it comes to lifting the mask mandates.
“I could see it as we do it in a
phased approach if that number of 12 to 17-year-olds gets into an acceptable
zone and by definition it will before the younger kids you could see making a
move phasing it in based on the age of the kids,” says Gov. Murphy. “High school
versus middle school versus elementary school. That seems to be a sense of a
way of thinking about this."
The in-school mask mandate
executive order is scheduled to end Jan. 11, which means it would have to be
re-upped. The governor did not give any specific dates when portions of the
mandate could be lifted.