NJ Hits COVID Vaccine-or-Test Deadline for School, State Workers

New Jersey state workers and school employees faced a Monday deadline of getting vaccinated or undergoing regular COVID-19 testing.

Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said Monday he didn’t have data to show vaccination rates in schools or state government. He had announced the requirement for vaccination or testing in August.

Monday also marked the first time since the outbreak began in March 2020 that state workers had begun returning to the office in person, but only in a handful of departments. Those are the Department of Children and Families, the Motor Vehicle Commission and the Department of Labor, the governor said.

More than 76% of the state’s vaccine-eligible population has been fully vaccinated in New Jersey, among the highest rates in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.