No NJ Vaccine Passport Yet, But Gov. Murphy Remains 'Open Minded'

NEW JERSEY — As New York City moves to require vaccine passports in indoor venues, Gov. Phil Murphy remains on the fence.

Beginning Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city’s mandate will apply to customers and workers in indoor dining, entertainment, performance and fitness settings.

Murphy has said that he is “open-minded” on requiring vaccination proof. In March, he said the state would wait on guidance from the CDC before mandating it.

"I was asked about the vaccination passport, if I was open-minded to it at one point. I said 'Yeah, that's something that I'd be open minded to,'" said the governor. "I don't want anyone to think that we're up here pounding the table, to think that this is something we unquestionably support. The CDC is the place that that discussion and that guidance has to come from.”

Since July 28, Murphy has been “strongly recommending" the use of face masks in indoor settings for both vaccinated and unvaccinated residents. This recommendation follows the CDC’s updated guidance as the delta variant spurs a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases across the country.

In Patch's reader survey last week, more than 17,000 Garden State readers gave their input on how they feel about masks and vaccine passports in light of increasing COVID-19 cases.

When Patch surveyed readers in April, most of them said a resounding "no" to vaccine passports. But in Patch's latest survey, half of readers said they now support a vaccine passport to attend events or dine indoors.

Murphy announced last week that health care facilities and other high-risk congregate settings have until Sept. 7 to establish a system to vaccinate all employees or routinely test them for the coronavirus.

Read more: COVID-19 Vaccines, Testing Now Mandatory For NJ Health Care Staff

This includes hospitals, correctional facilities, long-term care and assisted living facilities, specialty hospitals, in-patient rehab facilities, behavioral health facilities and memorial homes, Murphy said during a news conference.

Though some hospitals enacted their own vaccination requirements for their employees before Murphy mandated it.

In mid-July, the Hackensack Meridian Health System announced that all employees would be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by November. Soon after, RWJBarnabas Health announced it would require all employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 15.

RWJBarnabas announced that six employees in supervisory positions who refused to get the vaccine had been fired. "Supervisory" includes any doctor, nurse or hospital administrator who has a supervisory title.

"At RWJBarnabas Health we have an ethical and professional responsibility to protect our patients and ensure a safe, COVID-19 free environment,” the health network said. "Thanks to the incredible commitment of our leaders, the vast majority of our management team has been vaccinated against COVID-19."

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