OPINION: No More Excuses, Get the COVID-19 Vaccine. It is time for a broader push for mandates from both the private and public sector. When the vaccine first came out, it was appropriate for anyone to be skeptical. But with the advantages dwarfing the very few negatives, we are puzzled by the strong but increasingly smaller minority who twist themselves in knots believing anyone else but the doctors and experts who are backing the vaccine and the results we have seen in 11 months since it became available. We live in a society where requirements—laws—are expected to be followed to enjoy the freedoms that almost no other country in the world have. It is time we include being vaccinated for COVID-19. North-JerseyNews.com
Some hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare providers are preparing to operate without up to a third of their staff at the start of next year, if those workers don’t comply with a federal mandate to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The Biden administration is requiring facilities that receive funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to have workers vaccinated by Jan. 4, 2022, a mandate that two dozen states are challenging in court. Thirty percent of workers at more than 2,000 hospitals across the country who were surveyed in September by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were unvaccinated. Applied to a nationwide healthcare workforce of some 22 million according to the Census Bureau, that would equal nearly seven million who have yet to get inoculated. The Wall Street Journal
Assembly Republicans are planning to challenge a new rule that would ban lawmakers from entering the statehouse if they can’t provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test at their next session on Dec. 2. In a virtual meeting on Nov. 24, GOP legislators agreed that if some of their colleagues are blocked from entering the statehouse, none of them would participate in the voting session. “I have no intention of complying with this unconstitutional statehouse policy,” said Assemblyman Brian Bergen (R-25). “To do so would give credence to the idea that mandates and discrimination based on vaccine status is ok, and it’s not ok.” New Jersey Globe
Japan on Nov. 29 joined Israel and Morocco in barring all foreign travelers, and Australia delayed reopening its borders for two weeks, as more countries sealed themselves off in response to the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus. President Joe Biden is scheduled to give an update on the U.S. response to the Omicron variant as top federal health officials urged unvaccinated Americans to get their shots and eligible adults to seek out boosters. The New York Times
Gov. Phil Murphy received his COVID-19 vaccine booster shot Nov. 28 at the Monmouth Medical Center and encouraged other adult residents to get their shots as concerns mount over a new coronavirus variant and rising case numbers. Murphy, along with wife Tammy and their children, are part of the more than 1.23 million people in New Jersey who have received third doses or boosters after they recently returned from a three-night Thanksgiving trip to Orlando with his family last week. The Daily Record
New Jersey on Nov. 28 reported another 1,599 COVID-19 cases and four confirmed deaths, while statewide coronavirus hospitalizations were above 800 for the seventh straight day. The state’s seven-day average for new positive tests increased to 1,809, up 10% from a week ago and up 58% from a month ago. The statewide transmission rate inched down slightly to 1.20 from 1.21 on Saturday. The statewide positivity rate for Thursday, the most recent day available, was 5.57%. NJ.com
Under 50% believe the U.S. system of government is sound as unfounded concerns about voter fraud and an attempted insurrection by Republicans have diminished the belief in American Democracy. Those are the findings of a recent Monmouth Poll where just 8% believe that the American system of government is basically sound and needs either no changes or 35% wanting some improvement. The combined 43% is nearly identical to 44% who said the same shortly after the U.S. Capitol riot in January and down from a 50%-55% range recorded prior to attempts to overturn the election of President Joe Biden led by Donald Trump and his supporters. Thirty two percent of the American public continues to believe that President Biden won the 2020 election only due to voter fraud—the same across five polls in the past year. North-JerseyNews.com
The New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund has raised more than $83 million since March 2020 for groups, foundations and organizations that offer support and assistance to those Garden State residents who are most vulnerable. According to New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy, a total of 134 food pantries and shelters throughout the state have been helped as well as financial assistance to help provide educational equipment and tutoring, child care, mental health support and PPE. Other funding sources have included small businesses, church group block parties offering vaccines and to aid those caught in a housing crisis. NJ1015.com
The Montclair Township Council hired a lawyer to investigate claims by two Black firefighters that promotional exams were administered in a racially discriminatory way. The firefighters allege “inadequate administration and supervision of the examination,” including adding new scenarios were added with no points given for seniority. Additionally, there was “selective consideration of minor, decades-old disciplinary incidents and excused medical absences, designed to negatively impact the promotional scores of only African-American candidates.” The Record
New Jersey posted its 10th straight month of employment gains in October with most of the job gains concentrated in the private sector. New Jersey’s Department of Labor & Workforce Development said that nonfarm wage and salary employment in the Garden State increased by 20,000 in October. The news on job gains came two days after New Jersey’s Treasury Department October revenue collections for the major taxes totaled $2.8 billion, up $269.3 million, or 10.8% above October 2020. Year-to-date, Treasury said the state has collected $10.1 billion, up $2.0 billion or 25% above the same four months for 2020. Additionally, New Jersey’s total gaming revenue for October 2021 increased 32.7% from total gaming revenue in October 2020, Total gaming revenue reported was $3.9 billion, compared to $2.3 billion—an increase of 70.8% from a year ago. North-JerseyNews.com
Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative leadership agreed Nov. 26 to allocate nearly $700 million to stimulate economic growth and improve public health. The funding will allocate $435 million from the New Jersey Debt Defeasance and Prevention Fund and $262.6 million from the American Rescue Plan’s State Fiscal Recovery Fund. “This proposal will allow us to responsibly fund capital construction and continue using federal dollars for one-time, transformative investments in our residents, communities and infrastructure,” Murphy said. ROI-NJ.com
Paterson education officials paid their custodial services vendor $6.34 million during a recent 16-month period while Paterson’s schools were closed to students because of COVID-19. The Paterson Board of Education has asked the district’s lawyers to investigate the payments, which were made to Pritchard Industries of Florham Park, as the monthly payments varied greatly from $60,800 to $620,250. The Record
Sussex County signed a new contract with Morris County to house its county jail inmates. The extension calls for a minimum number of 45 beds, for both men and women, to be paid by Sussex County, with the rate per bed increasing to $109.24 per inmate. The guaranteed minimum will be just under $1.75 million per year under the new contract. New Jersey Herald
The Jersey City Planning Board is set to approve its master plan Nov. 30, giving official guidance on a range of issues from detailed points of zoning law to big-picture visions of the future of New Jersey’s second-largest city. The board will approve three parts of the plan: the land use element, the open space element and the master plan vision. The Jersey Journal
NY Waterway is looking to expand and make permanent its facilities in Weehawken. The plans for the expansion show renderings of a two-story building on a new approximately 44,000 square foot pier, allowing approximately 30 ferries to berth at the facility. The facility in Weehawken, while decades old, was only supposed to be temporary. After being unable to expand into Hoboken, the company has turned its attention to making a more permanent home where it is currently located. Hudson Reporter
A menorah car parade will makes its way from Morris County to Livingston Nov. 29. The participants, mostly from Morris and Essex counties, will gather at the Rabbinical College of America-Lubavitch on Sussex Road in Morristown at about 4:45 p.m. There the menorahs will be affixed to the top of their cars and the parade will start around 5 p.m. The event commemorates the beginning of Hanukkah, the festival of lights, on Sunday night. The Record
And finally…Americans are expected to spend $11.3 billion on Cyber Monday. News12 New Jersey
