Gov. Phil Murphy early Thursday morning said he expects it will take up to eight weeks for now-eligible residents in New Jersey to get COVID-19 inoculations.
"I actually think a lot of folks will be able to get it sooner," Murphy added in the interview on radio station Q104.3. He said about 175 distribution sites already have opened and any delays are because of short supplies, which he said the federal government is working to alleviate.Â
Murphy and Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli on Wednesday announced that, effective today, the state was opening vaccinations to all residents 65 and older as well as those with high-risk medical conditions. Besides those with any one of several chronic diseases, the high-risk group eligible today includes smokers and the obese.
That announcement sparked a firestorm of confusion on social media, with the now-eligible wondering where to register and where they'd be allowed to get their shots. Murphy has advised "pre-registering" on the state's site, but residents also can make registration appointments online with some health care providers handling the vaccinations. The state site has a list.
"I think this gets better fairly quickly," Murphy said in the radio interview. "But I don't want folks to feel like we overpromised and underdelivered."
"This is one of the most complex distribution processes ever undertaken by our country," Murphy said later Thursday morning in an interview on Fox29's "Good Day Philadelphia."
Murphy told the radio station's morning hosts that the state is committed to 259 vaccination sites, with 175 up and running already. The state also is sponsoring six mega-sites. A mega-site opened this week on the campus of Rowan College of New Jersey in Gloucester County and will be able to give 2,500 to 3,000 inoculations a day, Murphy said.
"I want to get shots in people's arms," he said. "I want to do it orderly. I want to do it with the right priorities. But I want people to get vaccinated, period." Murphy and others have said anyone 16 and older will eventually be eligible whether they live, work or study in New Jersey.
Murphy criticized how Florida has distributed the vaccine.
"We're not going to let what happened in Florida happen. Where you see people camping out all night, waiting around the block. Then in some cases if not many getting there and they're out of doses. So we're going to continue to be an appointments-based system," Murphy said in the radio interview.Â
Read the CDC's list of chronic diseases that make you eligible now.
Consult NJ's list of vaccination sites.
Governor said residents can go to any county
Extract from transcript of state COVID-19 briefing, January 13, 2021
Press question: The issue with the plan for vaccine distribution, now that we're expanding the pool. My understanding is if you’ve preregistered, there's going to be a list that you will be able to pick from to make your appointment. Does that have to be that location that you pick in the county where you live?
Gov. Murphy: It does not. This is a good point. And we made this point I think in Gloucester the other day at Rowan College. It's open to anybody who lives, works, or studies in New Jersey. You don't have to be living in that town or that county, unless Judy corrects me otherwise.
Health Commissioner Persichilli: No, that's true, but we would like if you go to Gloucester for your first shot that you go there for your second.
Click here for Governor's official announcement
