COVID-19 vaccines

The governor said the revision to indoor masking at private workplaces was a response to a "reasonable ask" from businesses.

Masks no longer will be required by executive order at indoor public places as of Friday, Gov. Phil Murphy has announced, at which point restaurants and other businesses also would no longer need to follow strict social distancing among patrons.

New Jersey had reported just short of 4 million people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 statewide as of Thursday, heading into the last week of May.

The issue of mandatory vaccinations is expected to intensify in the months ahead. The federal government's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has already made clear that employers are within their rights to require a COVID-19 vaccination.

Unlike most other states, including NY, CT, and PA, the indoor mask mandate remains in effect in New Jersey. New Jersey and Hawaii are the only states in the nation that have continued to impose mask mandates.

Even as New York and Pennsylvania announced the lifting of their indoor mask mandates, Gov. Phil Murphy still refuses to follow CDC guidelines.

About 22,000 Jersey youngsters between the ages of 12 and 15 have gotten their first shot since the CDC approved the Pfizer vaccine for adolescents last week.

Nursing homes, which accounted for half of the state's coronavirus deaths, are allowing residents and visitors to gather closely without masks as long as they're all vaccinated.

New Jersey continues to make good progress on the COVID vaccination front, with one glaring exception: the state's nursing homes, where a majority of the pandemic's victims lived.

According to Dr. Stanley H. Weiss, a Rutgers University epidemiologist and professor at the Rutgers Medical School, studies indicate the vaccine is extremely safe and effective for kids.