Phil Murphy, the Democratic governor of New Jersey, on Wednesday defended the eligibility requirements for the state’s coronavirus vaccine, telling CNBC that priority needs to be given to people with pre-existing medical conditions, including smokers.
In an interview with Squawk Box, Murphy explained that the state is focusing on using its available vaccine offerings in two distinct groups. The first, he said, are those needed “to help defeat the virus,” such as health workers and first responders. The second is individuals who have a higher risk of serious illness or death if they contract Covid, he said.
“This is not speculation. It is based on data, on facts. Who got sick? Who was hospitalized? Who did I lose?” Murphy said.
The second group includes residents of New Jersey aged 65 and over, as well as those aged 16 to 64 who have an eligible medical condition, which includes cancer, chronic kidney disease, various heart disease and smoking.
Teachers in New Jersey are not yet eligible as a whole group, but Murphy has been increasingly pressured to allow educators and school district employees to qualify for the vaccine. Lawyers believe it is important to be given the chance to save a life to allow in-person courses to be held more safely.
“It’s a false choice to compare smokers to anyone else,” Murphy told CNBC. “Anyone under the age of 65 who is most vulnerable, including if you are an essential worker, an educator, you are eligible right now.”
The list of medical conditions in New Jersey that make someone eligible for the vaccine closely follows the list of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with conditions that increase a person’s risk of developing severe cases of Covid.
The teachers as a group are “in the circle on the deck,” Murphy said, using the expression baseball to describe being up next to the bat. “I hope we get to educators sooner rather than later.”
Some states, such as Maryland, Illinois and Arizona, have expanded teacher eligibility, according to EdWeek, a news organization that covers K-12 education.
New Jersey has administered about 1.1 million doses of the vaccine since Tuesday afternoon, according to data compiled by the CDC. The United States generally administered 43.2 million doses, according to CDC data.
While Murphy expressed optimism about the Biden administration’s vaccination efforts, he said New Jersey still sees a higher demand for vaccines than it currently has available doses.
“You have a huge imbalance between supply and demand,” he said. He added: “The Biden team is doing a great job and I am confident they will deliver the supply. It will not be overnight, but we will get it.”