New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) speaks at the coronavirus press conference in Trenton, New Jersey.
Michael Brochstein | Barcroft Media | Getty Images
New Jersey has achieved its goal of fully vaccinating more than 4.7 million people living, working and studying in the state about two weeks before its original target date, June 30, Governor Phil Murphy said Friday.
The milestone comes after an aggressive vaccination campaign that included door knocking and incentives for the state’s residents like free beer and wine, free tickets to state parks, and even a dinner with Murphy and his wife.
The state also exceeded President Joe Biden’s goal of vaccinating 70% of adults with at least one dose by July 4th. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, New Jersey vaccinated about 77% of its adults with at least one dose.
“With the millions of you who have stepped forward today to protect yourself, your families and our communities, we are proud to announce that we have exceeded our original goal now and 12 days before our self-appointed deadline “said Murphy Friday at a press conference.
The New Jersey outbreak, which peaked in January with a seven-day average of more than 6,000 new cases per day, has since declined to a daily average of around 260 cases per day over the past week. New Jersey has seen more than 1 million Covid cases and 26,000 Covid deaths since data collection began.
Covid deaths in the state peaked in April 2020 with a seven-day average of 345 deaths per day. The number has since fallen to an average of 6 deaths per day.
The state previously defied the CDC’s recommendations to allow vaccinated people to wear a mask indoors, but passed the CDC guidelines two weeks later.
