Gov. Murphy: Could Nor'easter Hurt COVID Vaccine's NJ Delivery?

NEW JERSEY – Gov. Phil Murphy says there's another wrinkle in the potentially troubling nor'easter snowstorm that was hitting New Jersey on Wednesday and Thursday.

Could it impact the delivery of the coronavirus vaccine to New Jersey?

"If we didn't have enough already on our hands, that's another dimension," Murphy said during a news conference in which he declared a state of emergency.

Murphy said state officials are paying close attention to the delivery as the nor'easter could dump as many as 24 inches in parts of New Jersey by Thursday afternoon. Read more: NJ Nor'easter Snowstorm 2020: Live Updates

Murphy said the number of hospitals in New Jersey that will get the vaccine this week was supposed to rise from six to 47, and 35 have deliveries scheduled within the next 24 to 48 hours.

"That's a particular focus that we've all got," he said.

The storm comes a day after the very first coronavirus vaccines were administered in New Jersey and the state has a long line of people already waiting to get a shot. Read more: First COVID-19 Vaccines In NJ: Here's Who Will Get It Next

The federal government has allocated 76,050 first doses to New Jersey for the first tranche of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which began arriving at acute care hospitals Monday morning.

Essentially, anyone who works in the healthcare field – or even tangentially connected, such as mortuary workers – in New Jersey qualifies to receive a vaccine in the first round, state Health Commissioner Judy Perischelli said.

"We are all watching very carefullly the delivery of the vaccine," Murphy said.

The governor said that trucks carrying the vaccine get a free EZ Pass.

"And the protocol is to go to the Office of Emergency Management to notify them that that's what you have on your truck," he said.

Watch Murphy discuss the situation at the 27:10 mark:

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