TRENTON, NJ – Even though Governor Phil Murphy has emptied state prisons and is continuing to give early COVID-19 release to even more inmates, New Jersey Senator Michael Testa today said that’s not a good idea.
Murphy has announced he will be pushing off the deadline forcing prison workers to get fully vaccinated until April 11th after the CDC changed its guidance extending the time between first and second doses of the mRNA vaccines.
“I guess Governor Murphy finally realized that enforcing his vaccine mandate and firing nearly 60% of our corrections officers isn’t a smart idea,” said Testa. “With the threat of COVID-19 rapidly disappearing in the rearview mirror, he should repeal his unnecessary vaccine mandates completely.”
As of two weeks ago, just 43% of corrections officers were vaccinated, according to a New Jersey Department of Corrections spokeswoman. Testa has said repeatedly that the governor’s pandemic prison policies were putting both communities and corrections officers at risk.