TRENTON, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- New Jersey will administer its first COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesday, but the state's ongoing surge in virus-related deaths and hospitalizations will not "magically" disappear as a result, Gov. Phil Murphy warned Monday.
Frontline healthcare workers are set to receive the first doses of the state's vaccine supply at University Hospital in Newark on Tuesday morning, Murphy said at a news briefing Monday afternoon.
New Jerseyans shouldn't, however, take the "momentous" occasion as an excuse to let their guards down, the governor said.
"The number of new infections and hospitalizations will not magically return to zero because we're about to provide our first vaccinations," he said. "To reach 'herd immunity' among adults, we need at least 70 percent of New Jersey adults to be vaccinated — roughly 4.7 million of us."
New Jersey reported 4,805 new positive COVID-19 test results on Monday, bringing its case total to 405,448, health department data shows.
As of Sunday, 3,635 New Jerseyans were hospitalized with confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases, 704 of whom were in intensive care and 491 of whom were on ventilators.
The state also reported 25 new COVID-19-related fatalities, pushing its death toll to 15,907.
Murphy on Monday issued a warning to younger New Jersey residents.
"The share of new infections continues to skew toward younger New Jerseyans, while the share of deaths continues to skew toward older ones," he said. "You may be young and feel fine and not show a symptom, but you're killing your parents and grandparents."
