Vice President Kamala Harris is coming to New Jersey on Friday to highlight vaccinations and a key proponent of the spending bill now working its way through Congress: child care.
Harris is scheduled to visit Montclair and Newark to talk about President Joe Biden’s spending plan and to urge Americans to take the coronavirus vaccine, according to a White House official speaking on condition of anonymity in advance of the announcement about her trip.
The spending plan, which is expected to be reduced from its current $3.5 trillion price tag, would expand and hold down the cost of child care to make it easier for women to work outside the home. Many women left their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic as schools and child care centers closed, forcing them to stay at home.
Biden’s proposal would provide free preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, increase salaries for child care workers, lower costs of child care, and extend the tax credit for those taking care of children, or other dependents. A U.S. Treasury Department report released last month called the child care sector “a crucial and underfunded part of the American economy.”
The bill also would expand health care, fight climate change, and address the Republican tax law’s $10,000 cap on deducting state and local taxes. Congressional Democrats plan to pass the legislation through a process known as reconciliation, which prevents a Senate Republican filibuster and allows approval by majority vote.
Harris and the rest of the Biden administration have been pushing for Americans to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as the virus continues to spread in areas where residents have not gotten the vaccine and U.S. deaths have climbed over 700,000.
Newark hosted then-President Barack Obama in November 2015, when he came to talk about efforts to overhaul the criminal justice system. That was a top priority of U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a former mayor of the city.
Some lawmakers choose to lie low during their political careers. Here’s an example. When was the last time you saw New Jersey Republican Congressman Chris Smith commenting on a network news or political show? Come on. Dig deep into your political memory bank. You’re right. It’s been a while.
Smith, who is considered a moderate Republican and a maverick in foreign policy, stays quiet on most occasions. The last time he found himself in the national spotlight was back in 2008 when he helped bring home two Monmouth County sisters trapped behind Russian lines in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia.
The “get the job done while saying little” approach appears to have helped Smith. Constituents in his 4th Congressional District keep voting him back into office. The 68-year-old is currently serving his 21st term in Congress. But as Bob Dylan once sang, “The Times They Are A-Changin’.”
The United States is a far different place than it was back in 1980 when Smith first won his seat.
Today, many lawmakers, especially those in swing New Jersey districts, don’t have the same luxury as Smith. They have to speak out loud and it doesn’t necessarily have to be on a news program. Politicians are using their own websites and social media platforms to voice their strong positions. Being ambiguous could mean the difference between winning or losing.
Former President Donald Trump helped create this new political world order. Every politician is aware of the new, unwritten rules. You have to draw a line in the sand, pick a side and hope an unpredictable storm doesn’t sweep you away.
New Jersey Congressmen Tom Malinowski and Josh Gottheimer, both Democrats, are finding themselves swimming in rough political waters with the midterm election just around the corner. In November of 2022, all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 34 of the 100 U.S. Senate spots are all up for grabs.
Malinowski and Gottheimer happen to be in swing districts, meaning voters could go either way. For that reason alone, both men are politically vulnerable. It’s as if they’re being forced to place their bets now at an Atlantic City casino roulette table only to be told they’ll have to wait a year to see where the marbles will land on the wheels.
Both lawmakers are betting the way they handle their messaging around two spending packages now before Congress — the Build Back Better Act and Infrastructure bill — will either hurt or save them during the next election cycle. Their messages, though, are very different.
Last week, Progressive Democrats led by Washington Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal threatened to block the Infrastructure bill, which would dish out hundreds of billions of dollars to upgrade roads, airports, the rails, trains, and expand broadband.
The Progressives were hoping that by playing hardball moderate fellow Democratic Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin would move to their corner. Sinema and Manchin have refused to support Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act, saying the spending plan needs to be scaled down.
The stalemate forced President Biden to head to Capitol Hill and negotiate with members of his own party. Imagine that. The social spending plan provides trillions of dollars for pre-school childcare, free community college, the continuation of child credits, climate change initiatives and much more. The talks resulted in Speaker Nancy Pelosi postponing voting on both bills. Progressive Democrats also agreed to start making some cuts.
The Infrastructure bill postponement didn’t sit too well with Congressman Gottheimer, who represents New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He blasted fellow Democrat, Pelosi.
“It’s deeply regrettable that Speaker Pelosi breached her firm, public commitment to Members of Congress and the American people to hold a vote and to pass the once-in-a-century bipartisan infrastructure bill on or before September 27,” Gottheimer wrote in his statement. “Specifically,the Speaker said,‘I am committing to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill by September 27. I do so with a commitment to rally House Democratic support for its passage.’”
Gottheimer didn’t stop there. He went after the Progressive wing of his own party.
“We cannot let this small faction on the far left — who employ Freedom Caucus tactics, as described by the New York Times today — destroy the President’s agenda and stop the creation of two million jobs a year — including for the millions of hard-working men and women of labor,” Gottheimer wrote in his October 1st statement. “We were elected to achieve reasonable, commonsense solutions for the American people — not to obstruct from the far wings. This far left faction is willing to put the President’s entire agenda, including this historic bipartisan infrastructure package, at risk. They’ve put civility and bipartisan governing at risk.”
We reached out to Gottheimer’s office for comment, but so far, no one has gotten back to us. The Congressman, though, explained his position to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
“People back home — I am hearing from so many folks who are saying, ‘I am sick and tired of the potholes,” Gottheimer told Blitzer, “‘I am sick and tired of waiting for the trains for hours because they’re broken down.’ People want this fixed. This is broadband in rural areas. It’s water infrastructure. We’ve got lead in the drinking water in New Jersey and so many parts of our country.”
Gottheimer then posted the explosive statement on his Twitter page. That was enough to have fellow Democrats chiming in to reprimand him.
New Jersey State Senator Loretta Weinberg commented, “Disappointed in your statement Josh, Nancy Pelosi deserves your negotiating skills and your help, not your criticism.”
Another follower commented, “Well, as one of these people that you represent, I say, move on from this and get behind the BBB bill. That’s the one that will help us the most.”
“Vote for the BUILD BACK BETTER ACT NOW!” Wrote one more follower. “Which donor that gave to your campaign are you protecting? STOP OBSTRUCTING, get on board. I’m unemployed, my benefits stopped, and I am applying for work.”
While Twitter is hardly an indicator of district discontent, the backlash against Gottheimer was swift on his social media page. His district covers parts of Passaic County that tend to be more Progressive. His constituents, though, also live in Bergen, Warren, and Sussex counties, where voters are more moderate and even conservative.
On the flip side, Congressman Tom Malinowski, who beat his Republican challenger Tom Kean, Jr., by a very slim margin back in 2020, has taken out ads proudly defending his support of the Build Back Better Act. He’s not really focusing on the politics surrounding the Infrastructure bill. He’s leaning into the $3.5 trillion spending plan despite a new GOP ad campaign attacking him for being a “tax and spend Democrat just like Nancy Pelosi.”
Malinowski and five other U.S. Representatives have also penned a Newsweek op-ed piece, warning infighting could threaten progress.
“We are all majority makers from the Class of 2018,” the six Congress people jointly wrote in the Newsweek op-ed page. “We were elected to Congress in swing districts all across the country, not only to serve as a check on an unpopular Republican president, but to follow through on our promise to fight for the millions of middle class families who cast their ballots in our favor.
“And we’re committed to getting both the infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better Act across the finish line.”
Malinowski is also hearing it on Twitter. But those who disagree with him are mostly conservative.
One follower commented, “Build Back Better is a Socialist Spending Spree!” Another follower wrote, “Not those bills as they are now. Trim down, please.”
Malinowski’s 7th Congressional District is mostly affluent and encompasses parts of Essex, Morris, Somerset, Union and Warren Counties. During his last run for office, many New Jersey voters appeared to be angry over former President Trump’s rhetoric around the Coronavirus. Despite that, it was a tight victory.
As for the midterm election, anything can happen during the next year. However, one thing is for certain. Kean, Jr., has announced he will run against Malinowski in 2022.
Malinowski and Gottheimer are both facing tough battles ahead. Republicans are determined to take back the House. The lying low approach is not an option this time around. It’s why both men are showing their constituents they’re willing to fight like hell to hold on to their seats.
New Jersey, it appears, will not have to mobilize the National Guard to staff hospitals and health care facilities. Most healthcare workers have abided by Governor Phil Murphy’s mandate to get vaccinated against COVID or get fired.
NorthJersey.com is reporting compliance with the vaccine mandate is better than 95% at most hospitals and other medical facilities and is still increasing. Many workers who opted for testing rather than vaccination, are now deciding to get the jab.
That’s a substantially higher vaccination rate than in California, where National Guard medics are staffing some rural hospitals where staff have quit or been fired for refusing to get vaccinated. Healthcare workers rallied against the vaccine last week. One of the rally organizers, Nurse Deborah Burns, told the crowd, “I will not violate my body by putting an experimental death dart with undisclosed ingredients in it!”
New Jersey already had one of the highest vaccination rates in the nation, so it seems to follow that rates would be high among healthcare workers. But that does not mean there isn’t a shortage.
There was already a nursing shortage in the Garden State before the pandemic. The toll of working 18 hour shifts in the midst of a pandemic has been great. Vaccine mandate or not, many nurses and other healthcare workers are just burned out, and have left the profession.
Census 2020: The 20 biggest places in New Jersey
A countdown of the 20 most populous municipalities in New Jersey, as measured by the 2020 Census.
NJ towns and their nicknames
NJ teachers and educators caught in sex crime busts
Over the past few years, state lawmakers have taken on the challenge of dealing with accused child predators among the ranks of teachers and educators.
In 2018, the so-called “pass the trash” law went into effect, requiring stricter New Jersey school background checks related to child abuse and sexual misconduct.
The follow individuals were arrested over the past several years. Some have been convicted and sentenced to prison, while others have accepted plea deals for probation.
Others cases are still pending, including some court delays amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
On a summer day that brought Tammy Murphy from one end of New Jersey to the other, checking in on a construction site in Gloucester County was a priority. With metal beams towering overhead, Murphy walked across a dust-coated, concrete slab at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal, a site on the Delaware River that will one day be a manufacturing hub for giant steel pipes to anchor wind farms off the coast.
The project began in 2018, when Murphy and her husband, Gov. Phil Murphy, went to Germany during his first year in office to pitch wind companies to invest in New Jersey’s nascent clean energy industry.
“We never say no,” Murphy said of the way the couple approach policy goals. “We just kind of say, how?”
Many New Jerseyans likely don’t know Tammy Murphy’s name, but she’s one of the most powerful members of the administration.
Since her husband took office almost four years ago, she’s built a policy portfolio with goals to improve health care for women and children. She spearheaded a push to get climate change curriculum into schools, making New Jersey the first state to do so. A former Goldman Sachs analyst, she now spends her days working with her staff of three to promote her husband’s Democratic agenda.
She also figured prominently in his 2017 run for governor, a successful campaign that also sparked his first serious scandal, over allegations of abuse and misogyny by male staffers. Phil Murphy has apologized for the failings of 2017 and hired a human-relations firm for this year’s campaign to fulfill a pledge to “lead the nation in progressive workforce policies.”
Publicly, Tammy Murphy was mostly on the sidelines of that controversy, but the 2017 campaign is an example of how the first lady’s position as a key adviser to her husband cuts both ways: She has a platform to advocate for her chosen projects, but his administration’s scandals are also hers.
She now oversees the fund-raising arm of his reelection bid, and has been hosting canvassing events and meeting with volunteers as they gather to knock on doors.
If Phil Murphy wins a second term on Nov. 2, he will be New Jersey’s first Democratic governor in decades to be reelected. That would also mean four more years of Tammy Murphy at his side.
After the first lady moved into a Statehouse office down the hall from her husband, political insiders gave her the title of “co-governor” — a label she rejects.
“Phil’s the governor, Sheila [Oliver]’s the lieutenant governor, and I am somebody who complements and wants to support both of them in any ways I can,” Murphy, 56, said in a recent interview. “He is the governor and I never want anybody to think that I believe otherwise.”
Still, some see New Jersey’s first lady as more than a surrogate. On Aug. 31, when she joined a group of politicians in Cherry Hill to promote President Joe Biden’s jobs bill, Democratic National Chairman Jaime Harrison said voters who wanted results-oriented leaders should “send her back to the governor’s mansion” in November.
“We’ve got those sort of leaders right here in New Jersey,” he said. “Two of them are named Phil and Tammy Murphy.”
The state has had other first spouses in public roles. Murphy’s immediate predecessor, Mary Pat Christie, was a Wall Street bond trader whom Gov. Chris Christie described as the family breadwinner. She founded a nonprofit and raised millions in relief after Superstorm Sandy.
Tammy Murphy was different from the start. The governor’s decision to spend $13,000 converting a conference room into an office for her made headlines, and she gave a speech at his inauguration. In the early days of his term, lawmakers wondered how much sway she held over policy decisions, and insiders from both parties complained that her lack of a title created confusion.
South Jersey insurance executive George E. Norcross III, one of the state’s most influential unelected figures, told NJ Advance Media in 2019 that the governor “thinks he’s the King of England and Mrs. thinks she’s the Queen of England, and they don’t have to answer to anybody.” (At the time, he and Phil Murphy were in a battle over the state’s controversial tax incentive program.)
The governor dismisses such criticism as “political noise.”
“She’s filling a role that otherwise, either someone else would have to step into that role, whether it’s Sheila, or me, or a cabinet secretary,” he said in an interview. “Or, and this is the tragic part, it wouldn’t get done.”
Most of what she takes on publicly is noncontroversial: Besides the project on maternal and infant health, she launched a successful financing network for women-owned start-ups and raised millions for pandemic relief. Her work on climate change could be a lightning rod, she said, “but maybe not after Ida.”
Matthew Hale, an associate professor of political science at Seton Hall University, said the focus on the pandemic has also allowed the first lady to stay under the radar.
“People are comfortable with her taking on certain things, but if she were to get involved with the budget or with law enforcement, it might not be the case,” he said. “She’s picked a smart lane, and she’s staying in it.”
Joe Kyrillos, a Republican and former state senator who has known the Murphys for more than 20 years, said anyone who knows the first lady expected her to play a major part in the administration.
“He’s lucky to have her as an ally, as a partner, as a counselor,” said Kyrillos, who is supporting Republican Jack Ciattarelli in the upcoming gubernatorial election. “When you have somebody as smart and as talented and as able as Tammy, if you can institutionalize it in some way, you’d be smart to do it.”
Married for 28 years, the Murphys have four children. They live in Middletown and own homes in Italy and Berlin. Friends say their marriage is close; they regularly run together in the mornings.
Growing up in a Republican family in Virginia Beach, Tammy Murphy said her parents taught her to value community service and fairness. She left the GOP, she said, after she became passionate about environmental causes and abortion-rights legislation.
She met Phil Murphy at the University of Virginia, where she was studying English and communications. They crossed paths again at Goldman Sachs, then years later reconnected in London, where she worked for the Investcorp firm. They married within months and moved to Germany, where he was based.
The family resettled in New Jersey in 1998. After two decades on Wall Street that made him a millionaire, Phil Murphy went into politics, serving as finance chair for the Democratic National Committee and U.S. ambassador to Germany under President Obama. By then, Tammy Murphy was also serving on boards, including Vice President Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project. In 2017, she became a regular presence on the gubernatorial campaign.
The following year, the new Murphy administration was rocked by its first scandal: A state official, Katie Brennan, went public with claims that a campaign aide had raped her, and that not only were her reports to Murphy’s staff ignored, but that the aide, Albert Alvarez, was hired for a state job.
Alvarez denied the assault but ultimately resigned.
Brennan’s testimony before a 2018 legislative panel, in which she said her “voice went unheard” as she asked Murphy’s staff to take action, stood in sharp contrast with the governor’s self-portrayal as an advocate for women. Brennan said she had asked the governor and first lady for a meeting about a “sensitive matter,” but the meeting never happened.
Phil Murphy said he was unaware of the details of Brennan’s allegations until months later; a state panel in 2019 faulted Murphy’s staff for mishandling Brennan’s case at every level.
Last year, Julie Roginsky, a former senior adviser and strategist, said Murphy’s 2017 campaign was toxic for women, describing verbal abuse and other mistreatment. She was among several women who accused the Murphys and campaign officials of not responding adequately to harassment complaints; some said they faced retaliation. The governor has said he and the first lady acted on the complaints they knew of.
Phil Murphy, who often touts his women-centered legislative accomplishments like strengthening the state’s equal-pay law and restoring Planned Parenthood funding, has since signed bills aimed at improving the government’s handling of sexual assault claims.
In an interview with The Inquirer last month, Tammy Murphy said she told the human-relations firm hired by the 2021 campaign it needed to be the “gold standard” for providing a safe and inclusive environment. Asked if mistakes were made in 2017, she said: “When somebody feels like they’ve been wronged, we’ve got to listen to them. And I would just hope that we, as fellow human beings on this planet, can listen and learn at every step of the way.”
The mortality rate for Black women in New Jersey is seven times higher than white women — the worst disparity in the nation — and Black babies there are three times more likely to die within a year. As soon as her husband took office, Murphy honed in on reducing maternal and infant mortality as a priority.
Initially, she was naive about the complexity of the problems. She ended up spending years meeting with doulas, doctors, mothers and legislators, connecting stakeholders and learning best practices. The number of agencies working on the project grew from two to 18 as everyone from transportation to law enforcement got involved.
This year, the first lady released a plan outlining 70 steps aimed at reducing the mortality rate and addressing inequities; 10 are funded by the governor’s budget.
This summer, Phil Murphy signed a bill to provide free home nurse visits for new parents. Seated beside him, his wife said the law would prevent postpartum deaths by identifying health issues as well as other challenges, like food or housing problems.
Cosponsor State Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D., Essex) said that even under other administrations with a Democrat-controlled governor and legislature, progress was slow to move bills into laws when it came to her policy priorities.
“Now we’re collecting pens,” she said, “because those bills are getting signed.”
NEW JERSEY — Below you will find the most up-to-date information on coronavirus news impacting New Jersey. You can find additional resources and coverage on our coronavirus page.
US hits 700,000 COVID deaths just as cases begin to fall
The United States reached its latest heartbreaking pandemic milestone Friday, Oct. 1, eclipsing 700,000 deaths from COVID-19 just as the surge from the delta variant is starting to slow down and give overwhelmed hospitals some relief.
NJ leaders take on ‘Mayors Vaccine Challenge’
Two New Jersey mayors are going head-to-head in an effort to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19. It’s all part of the ongoing vaccination campaign in the Garden State that has already propelled it as one of the nation’s leaders in the fight against COVID-19. Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh is squaring off with Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora in what the state is calling the “Mayors Vaccine Challenge.”
New Jersey surpasses 1 million COVID-19 cases
As of Tuesday, Sept. 28, more than 1 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in New Jersey since the pandemic reached the state in 2020.
Pfizer submits data to FDA
Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE announced they have submitted initial data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from the Phase 2/3 trial of their COVID-19 vaccine in children 5 to 11.
In the trial, which included 2,268 participants 5 to 11 years of age, the vaccine demonstrated a favorable safety profile and elicited robust neutralizing antibody responses using a two-dose regimen of 10 μg doses.
NJ offers $500 ‘return to work bonus’ to unemployed residents
Unemployed New Jersey residents could earn a $500 bonus to return to the workforce as part of a new program announced by Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday, Sept. 27. The “Return and Earn” initiative will offer the one-time bonus to folks who secure a job through the program, including positions that require on-the-job training.
Is it safe to trick-or-treat this Halloween? CDC weighs in
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said on Face the Nation that kids can trick-or-treat safely this year, adding, “If you’re able to be outdoors, absolutely.”
CDC director overrules panel, backs booster for all adults in high-risk jobs
The panel had voted against saying that people ages 18 to 64 can get a booster if they are health-care workers or have another job that puts them at increased risk of being exposed to the virus.
Walensky disagreed and put that recommendation back in, noting that such a move aligns with an FDA booster authorization decision earlier this week.
FDA OKs Pfizer COVID-19 boosters for 65 and older, high-risk Americans
The FDA authorized booster doses for Americans who are 65 and older, younger people with underlying health conditions and those in jobs that put them at high-risk for COVID-19. The ruling represents a drastically scaled back version of the Biden administration’s sweeping plan to give third doses to nearly all American adults to shore up their protection amid the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.
J&J booster shot 94% effective 2 months after 1st dose
Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday, Sept. 21, said new data shows a second dose — or a booster shot — of their one-shot COVID vaccine was found to be 94% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 when given two months after the initial dose.
Pfizer says COVID-19 vaccine works in kids ages 5 to 11
Pfizer said Monday, Sept. 20, its COVID-19 vaccine works for children ages 5 to 11 and that it will seek U.S. authorization for this age group soon — a key step toward beginning vaccinations for youngsters.
Child care facilities
Gov. Phil Murphy said all child care workers and facility employees need to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 1 or face regular weekly testing. As of Sept. 24, all employees, students and children in a facility’s care ages two and up will need to wear masks indoors, with limited exceptions.
Moderna vaccine is most effective against hospitalization from COVID-19: study
A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compared how effective each of the three COVID-19 vaccines are in preventing hospitalization from the virus. The CDC reported that effectiveness was higher for the Moderna vaccine (93%) than the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (88%) and the J&J vaccine (71%).
New Jersey surpassed as state with highest rate of COVID deaths
Mississippi has surpassed New Jersey as the state with the highest rate of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., with roughly 1 of every 320 Mississippians having succumbed to the coronavirus.
COVID-19 is ‘getting better’ at becoming airborne virus
Recent COVID-19 variants are much more adept at airborne transmission than the original version of the coronavirus, according to a new study. University of Maryland researchers analyzed the Alpha variant first identified in the United Kingdom and discovered that carriers breathe out 43 to 100 times more infectious viral aerosols than those infected with the original strain.
U.S. panel backs Pfizer COVID-19 boosters only for 65 and over, high-risk
An influential federal advisory panel overwhelmingly rejected a plan to give Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots to most Americans, but it endorsed the extra shots for those who are 65 or older or run a high risk of severe disease.
COVID outbreaks in NJ schools
As of Wednesday, Sept. 15, there were six outbreaks in New Jersey schools, according to Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli. An outbreak is defined as at least three cases that are epidemiologically connected and not from the same household.
The cases are a mix of students and staff, Persichilli said. More information will be released on the state Health Department website in the coming days.
COVID-19 variants significantly reduce protection of vaccines, prior infection: study
A new study confirms that vaccinations and even prior COVID-19 infection provide significantly less protection against newer variants. Researchers from Oregon Health & Science University say in order to protect against the Alpha, Beta, and now Delta variants, these findings stress the importance of doubling down on both vaccinations and public health measures during the pandemic.
Mask debate moves from school boards to courtrooms
The rancorous debate over whether returning students should wear masks in the classroom has moved from school boards to courtrooms. In at least 14 states, lawsuits have been filed either for or against masks in schools. In some cases, normally rule-enforcing school administrators are finding themselves fighting state leaders in the name of keeping kids safe.
Supreme Court allows evictions to resume during pandemic
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority is allowing evictions to resume across the United States, blocking the Biden administration from enforcing a temporary ban that was put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. New Jersey’s statewide rent moratorium expires at the end of the year.
These foods are extra hard to find right now because of shortages, supply chain issues
Notice your grocery store shelves looking a little bare lately? You’re definitely not the only one. Supply chain issues have created shortages of highly specific ingredients.
‘It’s up to us’: Fauci says pandemic could possibly end by spring 2022
The nation’s top infectious disease expert believes the pandemic’s end is near as long as the U.S. follows the right protocols to contain COVID-19. Dr. Anthony Fauci said he sees the light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s only open if the country’s 80 million to 90 million unvaccinated people are convinced to get the shot.
Comirnaty: What’s the story behind the new Pfizer vaccine name?
Comirnaty, who? It’s the same exact mRNA vaccine Pfizer has been producing through the emergency use authorization, but now it’s being marketed under a new name.
Is an earache a new COVID-19 symptom?
Doctors say they’re seeing a new COVID-19 symptom in some patients. According to experts, an earache has been reported more frequently by those testing positive for COVID. Earaches can cause pain, a feeling of blockage and sometimes muffled hearing.
NJ COVID hospitalizations top 1,000 for the first time since May: Gov. Murphy
For the first time since May, more than 1,000 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in New Jersey on Wednesday, Aug. 25, Gov. Phil Murphy said. There were 1,012 people hospitalized with COVID, 92 of whom were on ventilators, according to state Health Department data. The last time the state had more than 1,000 COVID hospitalizations was over three months ago on May 11, Murphy said.
Johnson & Johnson: Vaccine booster provides ‘rapid, robust’ response
Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday, Aug. 25, announced new data the company said supports the use of its COVID vaccine as a booster shot for people previously vaccinated with their single-shot vaccine.
J&J said the new data showed that a booster shot of their vaccine generated a “rapid and robust increase in spike-binding antibodies, nine-fold higher than 28 days after the primary single-dose vaccination.”
NJ to require teachers, state workers be fully vaccinated
All school personnel and state workers in New Jersey will be required to get vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday, Aug. 23.
Will COVID booster shot have the same side effects as the first two shots?
The Biden administration said Wednesday, Aug. 18, that COVID booster shots will soon be available, but how will the Sept. 20 rollout work, and what side effects should Americans expect?
Lambda and B.1.621: New COVID variants could be the worst yet, doctor warns
At least two new COVID-19 variants have hit the United States and they could be worse than the delta variant in their infectiousness and ability to stand up to vaccines, according to a top medical authority.
U.S. health officials call for booster shots for all to battle COVID-19
U.S. health officials recommended all Americans get COVID-19 booster shots to shore up their protection amid the surging delta variant and evidence that the vaccines’ effectiveness is falling. The announcement was made on Aug. 18.
August child tax credit payments issued: Here’s why yours might be delayed
The second installment of expanded child tax credits was issued on Aug. 13 to millions of eligible families, but some payments will likely be delayed due to a technical glitch, the U.S. Department of Treasury said.
Schumer calls for federal crackdown on fake vaccine cards
COVID claims more young victims as deaths climb yet again
The COVID-19 death toll has started soaring again as the delta variant tears through the nation’s unvaccinated population and fills up hospitals with patients, many of whom are younger than during earlier phases of the pandemic.
NJ county opens COVID booster shot appointments
Health care officials in a northern New Jersey county began offering COVID-19 booster shots to qualified residents on Aug. 14. Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. said appointments for a third shot of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine were open at vaccination centers at Kmart in West Orange and Essex County College in Newark.
Concerts, outdoor events still risky as delta variant surges, experts say
Concerts and outdoor events are returning, and many are requiring proof of vaccination as part of new safety protocols designed to help prevent the transmission of COVID-19. But while experts say being outdoors is less risky in general, they continue to recommend additional precautions for those visiting crowded outdoor venues.
Biden weighs stiffer vaccine rules as delta variant spreads rapidly across U.S.
When the pace of vaccinations in the U.S. first began to slow, President Joe Biden backed incentives like million-dollar cash lotteries if that’s what it took to get shots in arms. But as new COVID infections soar, he’s testing a tougher approach.
Who doesn’t need the COVID-19 vaccine?
It has been eight months since the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered to health care workers nationwide. Since then, the vaccine has become available to anyone over the age of 12. Experts explain the few instances in which a person would not qualify for, or should delay getting vaccinated.
Extra COVID shot OK’d for immunocompromised individuals
With more than 600 colleges and universities now requiring proof of COVID-19 inoculations, an online industry has sprung up offering fake vaccine cards.
COVID vaccines would be required for military under new plan
Members of the U.S. military would be required to have the COVID-19 vaccine beginning Sept. 15, under a plan announced by the Pentagon on Aug. 9 and endorsed by President Joe Biden.
What to do if you lose your COVID-19 vaccine card
Don’t worry if you’ve lost your COVID-19 vaccine card, there are several ways you can get it replaced. No matter where you got your shots, getting a replacement card is possible.
Will NJ reinstate a travel advisory?
Gov. Murphy said on Aug. 9, a new travel advisory is not off the table, but for now he encouraged mask wearing, which is mandatory in all airports and on flights, and other COVID safety protocols. “You gotta use your head,” he added.
Will NJ mandate masks indoors?
Despite CDC data showing New Jersey falls under its guidance to wear masks indoors, Gov. Murphy said he will not yet mandate face coverings but added, “we leave all options on the table.”
COVID transmission levels call for indoor masking under CDC guidelines
Indoor masking is advised in areas with COVID transmission rates considered “substantial” or “high” under recently updated guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Aug. 8, all of New Jersey falls under those categories.
How do you know if you have the delta variant of COVID-19?
So you’ve tested positive for COVID – but which COVID exactly? Is there a way to tell if you have the highly transmissible delta variant? There is a way to tell, but there’s not really a way for you to tell.
COVID breakthrough cases: Is one vaccine better than others?
Are kids more vulnerable to the delta variant of COVID-19?
Hospitals around the United States, especially in the South, are starting to fill back up again as the delta variant tears though the country. With previous waves of infection, we’ve been most worried about the elderly being vulnerable. Now, it’s younger people – even children – starting to show up in hospital beds.
U.S. averaging 100,000 new COVID-19 infections a day as delta surges
The United States is now averaging 100,000 new COVID-19 infections a day, returning to a milestone last seen during the winter surge in yet another bleak reminder of how quickly the delta variant has spread through the country. The U.S. was averaging about 11,000 cases a day in late June. Now the number is 107,143.
NJ schools mask mandate: Teachers’ union backs, Republicans slam Murphy decision
New Jersey Republicans have largely trashed Gov. Phil Murphy’s announcement on Aug 6 that masks will be required in all schools in the upcoming academic year.
NJ health care workers must be vaccinated or tested for COVID-19
Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order on Aug. 6 mandating that all workers in state and private health care facilities either be vaccinated for COVID-19 or tested for it twice a week.
50% of U.S. population is fully vaccinated, White House says
The United States reached a vaccination milestone on Aug. 6: 50% of the population, all ages, were fully vaccinated, the White House COVID-19 data director confirmed.
CDC says people who’ve had COVID should get shot or risk reinfection
Even people who have recovered from COVID-19 are urged to get vaccinated, especially as the extra-contagious delta variant surges — and a new study shows survivors who ignored that advice were more than twice as likely to get reinfected.
‘You have lost your minds’: Murphy lashes out at anti-vax protesters
Warning of more delta mutations, Fauci urges vaccinations
The White House COVID-19 response team said the delta variant continues to surge across the country. During a briefing on Aug. 5, Dr. Anthony Fauci called on Americans to take precautions to stop the virus from mutating. “The ultimate end game of all this is vaccination,” he said.
The latest surge in COVID-19 infections is fueled by the highly contagious delta variant first identified in India late last year. Now, a variation of that variant is beginning to generate headlines. Here’s what we know about the COVID sub-strain being called delta plus.
Vaccine mandate for state colleges?
Currently, some state colleges in New Jersey are mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for students and staff and some have made it optional. Murphy said a universal mandate “is certainly an option,” but for now individual universities can make their own call.
More ‘pain and suffering’ ahead as COVID cases rise, Fauci says
Dr. Anthony Fauci warned on Aug. 1 that more “pain and suffering” is on the horizon as COVID-19 cases climb again and officials plead with unvaccinated Americans to get their shots.
Walmart requiring COVID vaccination, masks for many employees
In a memo, Walmart announced that associates who work in multiple facilities, and associates of its campus office, will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 4. Walmart also required associates, including those fully vaccinated, to wear masks in its stores.
Iconic NJ restaurant The Fireplace closes after 65 years
The Fireplace, like many other restaurants across the country, was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and temporarily shuttered its doors before reopening in May, when they implemented drive-thru, takeout and curbside pickup followed by indoor dining in October.
New delta variant research makes strong case for vaccination
A report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized the delta variant is more dangerous and fast-spreading than first thought. The findings also made clear why efforts to get more people vaccinated are vital.
CDC data shows delta variant spreads as easily as chickenpox
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new information on July 30, saying the coronavirus delta variant can spread as easily as chickenpox.
Pfizer: COVID vaccine protective for at least 6 months
The effectiveness of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine wanes slightly over time but it remains strongly protective for at least six months after the second dose, according to company data released on July 28.
Disney World requires masks indoors regardless of vaccination status
Beginning July 30, Disney World required all visitors ages 2 and older to wear a face covering while indoors as well as in Disney buses, the monorail and the Disney Skyliner, regardless of vaccination status.
CDC mask guidance: Vaccinated people should wear face coverings in public indoor settings
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed course on some masking guidelines, recommending that even vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the coronavirus is surging.
U.S. headed in ‘wrong direction’ on COVID-19, Fauci says
Doctors warn about slightly different symptoms with delta variant of COVID
As concern grows regarding the COVID-19 delta variant, health leaders are warning about somewhat different symptoms that come with it.
Most unvaccinated Americans unlikely to get COVID-19 shots, new AP poll finds
A new poll shows that most Americans who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 say they are unlikely to get the shots. About 16% say they probably will get the vaccine.
Is asking about someone’s COVID vaccine status a HIPAA violation?
HIPAA was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996 during a time when medical records were being computerized. It was created to simplify the administration of health insurance and to prevent unauthorized access to peoples’ medical histories.
In fact, HIPAA doesn’t block anyone from asking another person about their health status, according to Alan Meisel, law professor and bioethics expert at the University of Pittsburgh.
Gov. Murphy holds off on reinstating mask mandate
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says he’s not ready to reinstitute mask requirements, now or when schools are back in session in September. Murphy says he “is comfortable where we are” on mask mandates but is also closely monitoring developments.
Child tax credit checks: Will they become permanent?
The parents of an estimated 60 million American children began receiving child tax credit payments from the IRS in a move expected to lift millions of families above the poverty baseline for the remainder of 2021. Should they become permanent?
Biden grapples with ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated’
President Joe Biden is confronting the worrying reality of rising cases and deaths — and the limitations of his ability to combat the persistent vaccine hesitance responsible for the summer backslide.
Child tax credit: When to expect payments, how it may impact tax returns
Common cholesterol drugs may significantly reduce risk of death from COVID-19: study
Statins, a common medication for lowering cholesterol, may be saving lives among patients with COVID-19. A new study reveals hospitalized coronavirus patients who take statins are much less likely to die from the illness.
WHO chief says it was ‘premature’ to rule out COVID lab leak
The head of the World Health Organization acknowledged it was premature to rule out a potential link between the COVID-19 pandemic and a laboratory leak, and he said he is asking China to be more transparent as scientists search for the origins of the coronavirus.
Wildfire smoke linked to increased COVID-19 risk, study says
A new study suggests that exposure to wildfire smoke is linked to an increased risk of contracting COVID-19.
What can I do if I didn’t get my child tax credit payment?
The official disbursement date for the first child tax credit payments from the Internal Revenue Service was July 15, but parents may not see the cash right away.
Delta now dominant COVID variant in New Jersey
The highly transmissible delta variant is now the dominant strain in New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy said on July 12. The governor urged New Jersey residents to get vaccinated against COVID if they haven’t already done so.
Global COVID-19 deaths hit 4 million amid rush to vaccinate
There’s more to the worker shortage than pandemic unemployment, experts say
The workforce shortage is a combination of several factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, a shift in the economy, and changes in the workforce demographics, experts say.
Free health insurance included in stimulus benefits for unemployment recipients
Along with $1,400 stimulus checks and monthly child tax credit payments, the American Rescue Plan has another important benefit available to people who qualified for unemployment assistance this year: free health care.
Will one dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine protect me?
Yes, but not nearly as much as if you had both doses. Experts recommend getting fully vaccinated, especially with the emergence of worrisome coronavirus mutations such as the delta variant first identified in India.
Workers enjoy the upper hand as companies scramble to hire
With the economy growing rapidly as it reopens from the pandemic, many employers are increasingly desperate to hire. Yet evidence suggests that as a group, the unemployed aren’t feeling the same urgency to take jobs.
As of Monday, there have been 1,009,054 total positive PCR tests in the state since March 2020, and there have been 24,691 lab-confirmed coronavirus deaths, according to the state Health Department.
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — NOTE: See our updated article on Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to New Jerseyhere.
Essex County will be getting a visit from Vice President Kamala Harris, officials say.
Harris will travel to Montclair and Newark on Friday, according to a news advisory from the Office of the Vice President.
An unnamed White House official said Harris will be speaking about President Joe Biden’s spending plan – including child care – and promoting COVID-19 vaccination efforts, NJ.com reported.
On Thursday, the office of Gov. Phil Murphy confirmed Harris would be arriving in the Garden State to tour a child care facility and a COVID-19 vaccination site, and that the governor planned to meet her.
Days after California became the first state to announce school children must be vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend in-person classes, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday he doesn’t expect New Jersey will take that step, though he also didn’t rule it out.
“I don’t anticipate we’re gonna need to do that, in terms of mandating the kids to have it,” Murphy said during his latest coronavirus briefing in Trenton. “But it’s an option, I think, we leave on the table.”
“We think we’ve got the right package for school in place,” added the Democratic governor, who is running for a second term Nov. 2. “We also acknowledge that as the weather starts to slip on us and we’re spending a lot more of our lives inside, including in schools, we may see some bumps. But we think this is the right package in place.”
New Jersey required schools return to all in-person classes this fall, with students and staff members in pre-school through 12th grade required to wear masks inside.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday the state will add COVID-19 vaccine to 10 other required immunizations for students to attend school there.
The mandate will be phased in as the U.S. government gives full approval for the vaccine to younger age groups. Currently, the Pfizer vaccine is authorized only for emergency use for children 12-17. Children under 12 are not yet eligible for the vaccine.
“Vaccines work,” Newsom said.
There would be exemptions for religious or medical reasons.
Public school students in New Jersey are also already required to be vaccinated against numerous illnesses, such as measles, mumps, polio, and chickenpox. The state allows parents to opt out for religious reasons.
Former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican challenging Murphy in the governor’s race, is against vaccine mandates and has said he would expand New Jersey’s vaccine exemptions for students if he’s elected.
“I don’t think government has any right to tell any individual they have to take a vaccine or a medicine,” Ciattarelli said in July.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has endorsed California’s move.
“People need to realize that having a vaccine requirement for schools is not a new, novel thing that is very peculiar or specific to COVID-19,” Fauci said during an interview Sunday on CBS. “We’ve been doing this for decades.”
Murphy also stressed Monday that New Jersey’s mask mandate in school isn’t “forever and always” because the state’s COVID-19 case count is “never gonna go to zero.”
“We’re not going to hold ourselves to a zero reality here,” the governor said. “We’re gonna make moves and make decisions based on what we think is a reasonable state of the virus.”
Ed Lifshitz, director of the state Department of Health’s communicable disease service, said he believes it will be safe to lift masks in schools “when either the virus is less common, the virus has become less deadly, or there are better prevention measures.”
New Jersey’s coronavirus numbers had been rising in recent months, though hospitalizations have remained relatively stable and the daily case average and rate of transmission have dipped in the last week.
The state on Tuesday reported another 1,255 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 37 more confirmed deaths, while there were 1,087 people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases across the state as of Monday night.
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ELIZABETH, NJ — On Sept. 29, a Union County grand jury returned a six-count indictment against a man charged with killing his former girlfriend and kidnapping their 2-year-old son, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel announced Sept. 30.
Tyler Rios, 27, of East Orange, is charged with one count each of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, desecrating human remains, endangering the welfare of a child, contempt by violating a domestic violence restraining order and theft in connection with the kidnapping of his son and murder of the child’s mother, 24-year-old Yasemin Uyar, of Rahway. The indictment alleges that on July 8, Rios kidnapped their child, Sebastian, and murdered Uyar.
The July incident that resulted in a widely broadcasted Amber Alert launched a multistate investigation, which led to the recovery of the child and the discovery of Uyar’s body in Tennessee.
An investigation led by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office — and assisted by members of the FBI’s Newark Field Office and satellite offices, the New Jersey State Police, and the Rahway Police Department — led to Rios being identified as a suspect in the case after Sebastian did not show up for daycare on July 9 and Uyar did not arrive for scheduled work shifts, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Grady, who is prosecuting the case. A welfare check was conducted on Uyar’s home by members of the Rahway Police Department, but no one was found inside, Grady said.
Shortly thereafter, the state police issued an Amber Alert that was sent to privately owned cell phones, broadcast on electronic billboards along highways in New Jersey and beyond, and widely shared via social media.
Through the efforts of the Union County Prosecutor’s Office and the above-named agencies — as well as a result of assistance from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee — Sebastian was found unharmed in Monterey, Tenn., on July 10, when Rios was taken into custody without incident. Later in the day, investigators located Uyar’s body in a wooded area nearby, off of I-40.
An autopsy performed on Uyar revealed that her death resulted from strangulation and blunt force trauma.
Rios was extradited back to New Jersey on July 16 and remains housed in the Essex County Correctional Facility pending an Oct. 12 post-indictment arraignment before Judge John M. Deitch of the Union County Superior Court.
“We are grateful for the collaboration with the many local and federal law enforcement agencies who assisted our office in not only apprehending Mr. Rios, but also in safely recovering Sebastian Rios, locating Ms. Uyar’s remains and bringing them both home to their family,” Daniel said. “And we hope that this can bring some small measure of comfort to all those grieving Yasemin.”
Convictions of crimes of this nature can be punishable by terms of up to life in state prison.
These criminal charges are mere accusations. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proved guilty in a court of law.
Newark, NJ – Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R, Archbishop of Newark, has released a pastoral reflection on the role of Catholics as “stewards of God’s grace.” This follows a previous pastoral letter from Cardinal Tobin in which he looked forward to an eventual return to in-person worship. Now that vaccination has become more widespread and statewide restrictions against in-person gatherings have lifted, Cardinal Tobin is encouraging Catholics to reunite in celebrating the Mass.
“All of us — clergy, religious and lay faithful — have a responsibility to invite and encourage our fellow Catholics to return to the grace of the Eucharist,” Cardinal Tobin writes in Stewards of God’s Grace. “I see this as a stewardship responsibility, an opportunity ‘to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.’”
Throughout the pandemic, the Archdiocese of Newark has taken a leadership role in developing and maintaining protocols to preserve the health and safety of its parishioners and parish communities. The Archdiocese continues to maintain policies that comply with applicable state guidelines.
“As stewards of God’s grace, we have an obligation to serve as teachers and role models for the children of our community, who have begun to gather safely at school each day for in-person instruction,” Cardinal Tobin adds. “In a similar way, we can and must return to celebrating the Eucharist together, to show future generations of Catholics the countless benefits of uniting as a Church.”
In developing Stewards of God’s Grace, Cardinal Tobin built upon ideas proposed by the American bishops in a 1992 pastoral letter titled Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response. To read the full text of Cardinal Tobin’s pastoral reflection in English and Spanish, visit https://www.rcan.org/stewards-gods-grace.
About the Archdiocese of Newark The Archdiocese of Newark serves approximately 1.3 million Catholics who reside in the 511 square miles of the four counties it serves: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Union counties. It includes 212 Catholic parishes and 74 primary and secondary Catholic schools. The Archdiocese is shepherded by Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., who was appointed Archbishop of Newark on November 7, 2016, and elevated to Cardinal by the Holy Father, Pope Francis, on November 19, 2016. Cardinal Tobin was installed as Archbishop of Newark on January 6, 2017. To learn more, visit www.rcan.org.
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