New Jersey Opens COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility To Anyone 16 Or Older Starting Monday
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- The CDC says half of the United States adults have now received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. On Monday, New Jersey opens eligibility to anyone 16 or older.
The Garden State will join Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Delaware in offering the shots to everyone in Phase 2.
Gov. Murphy says anyone 16 and older will be eligible to sign up for the COVID-19 vaccine, despite a pause in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine rollout.
"We had administered just over 244,000 doses of the vaccine prior to getting paused, no similar adverse effects have been reported," Murphy said.
Anthony Fauci says he's hopeful we could know if the one-and-done shot will be approved for use once again in the U.S. later this week.
"A decision will almost certainly be made by Friday, I don't really anticipate that they are going to want to stretch it out a bit longer," Fauci said.
This is something many in Camden County are counting on.
"We're actually seeing people that want to retain their J&J appointment, they only want one dose, they don't want to come back and do it twice," Dan Keashen said.
Camden County's mega-site uses Moderna and officials say they have appointments available.
This comes as Camden City schools are set to reopen for hybrid in-person learning after being closed for more than a year.
"We've worked to vaccinate about 1,700 teachers throughout the county," Keashen said.
Officials are recommending those in the Garden State to get a shot, no matter the provider, sooner rather than later with Memorial Day now just six weeks away.
"Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people come to the Jersey Shore every summer -- it's extremely important," Keashen said.
Officials warn despite the vaccine rollout expanding, cases are rising -- especially among younger patients.
Experts warn it's still critical to take safety precautions including social distancing and wearing masks when in public.
CBS3's Alicia Roberts contributed to this report.
