TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey is opening up COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to those 16 or older beginning April 19, Gov.
Phil Murphy said Monday. Murphy, a Democrat, said the expansion comes two weeks ahead of plan and added that it's the "right time to put our program into higher gear." The announcement came the same day that those 55 and older as well as people in other jobs categories became eligible for the vaccine.
Murphy has promised to get 70% of the state's adult population, or 4.7 million people, vaccinated by the end of June. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Jersey has risen over the past two weeks from about 4,004 new cases on March 20 to 4,363.