TRENTON, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- New Jersey will aim to vaccinate 70 percent of its eligible adult population when a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday.
Murphy and New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli on Monday unveiled the state's new COVID-19 vaccination plan.
The state plans to follow Centers for Disease Control guidance when it comes to distributing the vaccine, the two said in a release.
The CDC has recommended prioritizing health care workers, essential workers and high-risk individuals — including people who are 65 or older — as part of the "first phase" of vaccinations.
New Jersey's "initial goal" is to vaccinate 70 percent of its adult population, Murphy said.
"Any vaccine rollout will likely come with a limited initial supply," he tweeted. "We will work quickly to move across population segments and deliver vaccines into the communities that were hardest hit by COVID-19 — not just those that are easiest to reach."
Local health departments, federally-qualified health centers, hospitals and pharmacies will help coordinate the "rollout effort," he said.
The vaccine "will be critical to our continued fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and is a key tool in our recovery," he noted.
"While we will welcome one or more COVID-19 vaccines, we are not going to simply rush forward," he added. "We will be as methodical and deliberate in our approaches to a vaccination plan as we have in every aspect of our responses over the past eight months."
