TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said today that the wait to get vaccinated in New Jersey just got longer. The Biden administration has notified the state that it will not be getting an increase in vaccine supplies now until April.
“We’re not expecting to have our dose allocation from the federal government significantly increased until April,” Murphy said. “Moving forward we’ll have to maximize every single dose we have and make sure we reach as many folks who live, work and study in New Jersey.”
Despite the grim news, Murphy said NJ is on a good pace with vaccinations.
“In just seven days, we’ve gotten through another 500,000 shots,” Murphy said.”All of this is being achieved against the backdrop of vaccine demand continuing to far outpace our vaccine supply.”
Murphy’s latest revelation contradicts the governor’s plan to use the anticipated supply increase to vaccinate New Jersey’s school teachers this year.
President Joe Biden, Murphy and the news media have been touting a ramp-up in vaccine production since January and now in March, it still hasn’t arrived in the Garden State.
The Biden administration had previously promised to get a vaccine into the arms of every U.S. educator by March and enough vaccines to vaccinate all Americans by May.
The latest news makes both scenarios unlikely.