1st District Team Calls for More Vaccine Help from Murphy Administration

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TRENTON – Sen. Michael Testa, Assemblyman Erik Simonsen and Assemblyman Antwan McClellan (all R-1st) Jan. 26 called on Gov. Phil Murphy to use his political influence and his business contacts to help New Jersey get enough doses to meet the demand for the Covid vaccination.
“The state’s residents have done everything they have been asked to do during this pandemic,” stated Testa. “They were led to believe that vaccination is the key to bringing an end to this long Covid nightmare. Now, they are finding it difficult, if not impossible, to schedule an appointment and hearing that there is not enough supply. People are frustrated and worried. They don’t want to fall through the cracks. There is a genuine fear of missing out, of being one of those who don’t get inoculated.”
During Jan. 22’s Covid briefing, Murphy announced that more than 500,000 vaccines have been administered in New Jersey, but at least two South Jersey hospital systems are no longer accepting appointments and have begun canceling scheduled visits due to insufficient vaccine supplies.
“The Governor has friends in high places, and with his Wall Street background, he knows how to influence people,” stated Testa. “We want to open the economy back up, allow restaurants to expand capacity, and, once again, provide all students with in-person learning at our schools.”
“New Jersey got hit early and hard, with a death rate three times higher than the rest of the country,” stated Simonsen. “If the governor would just start working through his rolodex and making the case, there really isn’t any reason why he can’t convince people that our allotment should be proportional to our needs. We need vaccines to go where they’re most needed, not just evenly spread across the country.”
McClellan emphasized the importance of inoculating as many people as possible now, to lessen the chance of the virus mutating.
“Right now, the two vaccines are doing the job, but every time the virus spreads to a new person, the likelihood of a mutation increases,” stated McClellan. “Time is of the essence. The governor needs to pull out all the stops to ensure New Jersey gets the doses we need.”