Gov. Phil Murphy has repeatedly stated that his goal is to have 70% of New Jersey residents vaccinated for COVID-19 in the first six months of the vaccine’s release. And, while the state will need a marked increase in availability of vaccines to reach that level, officials were proud to announce Sunday that the state surpassed 300,000 doses for the week.
Murphy, in a Sunday afternoon tweet, said the state has now administered 1,341,185 doses of the vaccine, including 984,737 first doses. That means approximately 11% of the population has received at least a first shot of the vaccine.
The state will open more community-based vaccination sites this week, in an effort to make sure areas with the most at-risk residents have access to the vaccine. Still, the amount of the vaccine the state gets will be the biggest determinant in whether New Jersey reaches its stated goal.
The good news? The number of cases in the state continues to go down.
The state reported just 1,798 cases Sunday — the lowest total since Nov. 2.
In addition, the rate of transmission is now down to 0.86, well below the desired mark of less than 1.0.
It’s not all good news. The state reported 15 additional confirmed fatalities, bringing that total to 20,208. The state acknowledges 2,246 other fatalities are likely the result of COVID-19. And many feel there are additional deaths that have not been accounted for.
