9K NJ Kids Given First Dose Of COVID Vaccine So Far

NEW JERSEY — As of Monday, 9,116 children between the ages of 5 and 11 have received their first dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine that has been approved for that age group, state officials said.

This amounts to 1.2 percent of the 760,000 children ages 5 to 11 in New Jersey who have begun to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said during a news conference on Monday.

Of the 650,000 12- to 17-year-olds, about 260,000 remain to be vaccinated, Persichilli said. She estimated about 60 percent of the eligible students in this age group has been vaccinated.

"We'd like to get all of them vaccinated," Persichilli said.

Gov. Phil Murphy said as more students in this age group get vaccinated, the state moves closer to being able to lift the masking mandate for children in schools.

"When I look back on our announcement over the summer that schools would begin the year with a masking requirement in place, one of the reasons was that our youngest students were not yet eligible for vaccinations," Murphy said. "Now they are, and with each child who gets vaccinated and enters a classroom with an educator who was vaccinated and sits among their peers who are vaccinated, the closer we get to being able to lift this requirement."

The school mask mandate currently in place expires Jan. 11, Murphy said, adding that parents shouldn't focus on that as the be-all, end-all date. Read more here: NJ K-12 Students Must Wear Masks This Fall, Gov. Murphy Says

"I would hope this is the beginning of a process, I can't tell you exactly when, that we'll be able to get to that place sooner than later," Murphy said.

The governor said the mask mandate could be lifted in phases, much like the state handled the reopening of businesses last year. If 12- to 17-year-olds get to an acceptable level of vaccinations before the younger children, the mandate may be lifted for that age group first, he said.

"That seems to me to be a sensible way to think about this," Murphy said.

He said there are a number of factors that will play into any decision about lifting the mask mandate. He said general vaccination rates are going up, and the number of coronavirus cases spurned by the delta variant continues to go down.

However, officials are concerned about the winter months forcing people inside and the threat of yet another "delta-plus" variant possibly coming to the U.S. from Europe.

On Monday, the state reported 11 new outbreaks in New Jersey schools, and there have been 148 total since the beginning of the academic year. There are currently 68 cases among students, and 11 cases among staff members in schools statewide.

In total, there have been 681 cases among students and 113 cases among staff members since the beginning of the school year.

"We have more than 1.5 million students across more than 3,500 school buildings statewide," Murphy said. "These numbers are proving that our multi-layered approach to safety is working, and it can only be enhanced through vaccination."

With the latest approval, Pfizer now has a COVID-19 vaccine available for everyone ages 5 years old and up. Over the summer, Murphy mandated that all New Jersey school teachers and staff, as well as state employees, must be vaccinated against COVID-19. Read more here: NJ Teachers, State Employees Must Be Vaccinated Or Face Testing

Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved the Pfizer vaccine Tuesday for use in children ages 5 and up, the vaccine is not yet available everywhere in New Jersey.

Childhood vaccination efforts were really expected to ramp up on Monday, when the Pfizer kids' shot was set to become available nationwide at thousands of pediatricians, pharmacies, state-run vaccine sites and more. Read more here: COVID Vaccine For Kids Under 12: Where To Get One In NJ

The CDC strongly recommends that all children in that age group get the COVID vaccine. The federal health agency said it wants to see all of America's 28 million children in this age group get the shot. With a little more than 1 percent of children being vaccinated, there may be some hesitancy among parents who are concerned about the side effects of the vaccine on children.

The vaccine is 1/3 the dose of those given to residents ages 12-and-up. Similar to what was seen in adult vaccine trials, vaccination was nearly 91 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 among children aged 5-11 years, the CDC announcement said. In clinical trials, vaccine side effects were mild, self-limiting, and similar to those seen in adults and with other vaccines recommended for children. The most common side effect was a sore arm.

The CDC strongly recommends that all children in that age group get the COVID vaccine. The federal health agency said it wants to see all of America's 28 million children in this age group get the shot.