New Jersey Teachers Will Be Eligible For the COVID-19 Vaccine, Effective March 15

New Jersey’s Governor Phil Murphy just announced that the state is expanding vaccine eligibility to included educators and additional essential workers throughout the month of March.

Governor Murphy shared on Monday that educators (including Pre-K to 12 educators and support staff). Plus, child care workers, transportation and workers, and additional workers in the public safety sector, the governor says, will be eligible on Monday, March 15.

This also includes public and local transportation workers, including bus, taxi, rideshare, and airport employees, along with NJ Transit workers.

The news comes as teachers across the state have been concerned for their safety as schools across the state return to some form of in-person education this spring.

The news certainly helps put minds at ease that schools will reopen for in-person instruction this fall as well.

Food Workers Will Be Eligible For March 29

Then beginning March 29, frontline essential workers in the following categories will be eligible for vaccination: food production; agriculture, and food distribution; hospitality; eldercare and support; warehousing and logistics; social services support staff; and elections personnel, Murphy said.

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The expansion comes as the federal government approved an emergency authorization of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. New Jersey's Governor Phil Murphy said that he expects the state to receive as many as 70,000 doses of that vaccine as early as this week.

New Jersey residents can register for a vaccine on the NJ Vaccine Scheduling System. The state will notify them when they become eligible for the vaccine.

As the availability of the vaccine expands, many across the state are still finding the process to schedule a vaccine to be difficult. It has gotten a bit easier as private pharmacies such as CVS and Rite Aid have begun to offer the vaccine too.