Vaccine Support, Not Mandates: Murphy/Ciattarelli's COVID Plans

NEW JERSEY - When COVID-19 plans are brought up, Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli is quick to point out that he is vaccinated and supports vaccines. The speedy response is part of his tactic to get ahead of incumbent Phil Murphy who has tried to peg Ciattarelli as a right-wing extremist.

Ciattarelli has said he agrees with Murphy's plan for school teachers in the state, offering a choice between vaccination and bi-weekly COVID tests. He has stressed that what he does not support is "inconsistency." Ciattarelli believes parents should have the choice on whether to mask their children in school, and opposes vaccine mandates. Instead, Ciattarelli said he believes his duty as governor is to offer as much information to the public as possible and allow them to make their own decision.

"Do I believe that government has a right to tell people they have to take a medicine? No, I don't," he said during the first debate of the race on Tuesday night.

You can read more of Ciattarelli's position here.

For his part, Murphy maintains that the requirements his administrations has in place are crucial to guiding New Jersey out of the pandemic.

"You can't look for wiggle room on vaccines," Murphy said. "You can't ignore the science as it relates to masking. It is crystal clear. A year and a half ago, we didn't have a playbook. We have a playbook now, and we know what works."

You can read more of Murphy's position here.

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