'Offensive:' Christie Calls Out Gov. Murphy On NJ Vaccine Delay

NEW JERSEY — The Garden State missed a filing deadline for federal approval to administer COVID-19 vaccines in long-term care facilities, delaying deployment a week and drawing the ire of former Gov. Chris Christie, who was quick to blame his successor.

"It is offensive that the highest elected official in the state deflects rather than explaining why NJ seniors must wait an extra week for life-saving vaccine after 7,100 have already died on his watch," Christie said in a statement Monday.

Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said that New Jersey and nursing homes were supposed to submit the paperwork for approval by Dec. 7 so the vaccinations could start by Monday. But they missed the deadline by a day.

"We asked to start on the 21st, and they said, 'No, you'll start on the 28th,'" Persichilli said. "It was as simple as that." Read more: No Nursing Home COVID-19 Vaccines On Monday; NJ Missed Deadline

Persichilli noted that the "sheer volume of information that had to be inputted" caused the state and its 600-plus long-term care facilities, skilled nursing homes and assisted living facilities to miss the deadline.

This is not the first time Christie has lashed out at Gov. Phil Murphy for his coronavirus response in nursing homes.

"Think about this," Christie told Fox News Radio's Guy Benson over the summer. "New Jersey, as you know, has the second most [coronavirus] deaths of any state in the country. And based upon the number of confirmed cases, they are by far No. 1 in the percentage of deaths. If you look at it, the first one is New York, which has about double the deaths of New Jersey, but has nearly triple the number of cases that New Jersey has."

Murphy vehemently disagreed with that characterization, noting that his administration was crystal clear and explicit that any reintroduction of COVID-19-positive residents into long-term care facilities came with conditions. They would need to cohort, separate into different floors, or different buildings or different wings. The order included staff.

"And if you can't do it, any many came to us and said we can't do that can you help us find a place for these COVID positive patients, we did exactly that," he said. "So that talking point is myth."

Murphy also said that it may have happened, but it was explicitly against the guidance of his administration.

"With all due respect to the Monday morning quarterbacking and color commentary and checking in now again on a pandemic: This is war. Morning, noon and night and it is crystal clear what our directives were as it relates to long-term care and COVID-19 positives, and whether it's Governor Christie or any other smart aleck who says it was one thing when it was another, give us a break," he said, noting there will be a full investigation on the directives about reintroducing COVID-19 patients to long-term care facilities. "It was black and white, and if folks violated it they will pay a price."

This post contains reporting from Tom Davis.

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