Gov. Murphy Visits Irvington Barbershop To Encourage Vaccination

IRVINGTON, NJ — A Irvington barbershop got a visit from New Jersey governor last Friday. Phil Murphy met with Irvington Mayor Tony Vauss at N & N Unisex Hair Salon on Chancellor Avenue, in a move to encourage more Black residents to get vaccinated.

Population in Irvington is 86% Black and 10% Hispanic, and the town has one of the lowest vaccination rates. Only 55% of its 55,000 residents have been fully vaccinated, according to the township’s health officer.

Murphy said barbershops are one way to spread the word that the vaccine is free and highly effective.

“In the Black community especially, the barbershop is the place where people go. It’s not just getting a cut, it’s exchanging information, getting caught up on what’s going on,” Murphy said. “When you look at the people who are entering the hospital, they are overwhelmingly unvaccinated."

Shop owner Hugea Newman said most people who walk in still aren't vaccinated.

“It’s changing a little but one of the reasons that is happening is because there is misinformation,” he said. “People are definitely afraid.”

Secretary of Higher Education Brian Bridges, who was also present, said he's having a hard time convincing his 78-year-old mother to get the shot because of how in the past Black people were treated by the medical community.

One barber commented that he trusted the vaccine because the government wouldn’t put doctors and nurses, who were first eligible for the shot, in harm’s way.

The health department in partnership with a local family set up a pop-up vaccination site next to the barbershop that had vaccinated 14 people by 2:30 p.m.

Press pool coverage courtesy of Karen Yi and WNYC