New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said critics of his COVID-19 vaccine prioritization list are just blowing smoke.
The current plan has attracted controversy for listing “smoking” as a qualifying medical condition that entitles residents aged 16-64 to obtain the vaccine ahead of the general population.
Murphy defended the decision as a science-based effort to save lives in a Twitter thread on Friday afternoon.
“Our first priority must be to vaccinate those at higher risk due to age or other health factors that put them at a greater vulnerability for severe COVID,” he wrote. “This is a respiratory virus. … Smoking puts someone at a higher risk of a more severe case of COVID. In this, we are in agreement with @CDCgov guidance.”
I must push back on the false narrative that we’re vaccinating smokers while not vaccinating another group.
We have a limited supply of vaccines from the federal government – roughly 100,000 additional doses coming in per week.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) January 15, 2021
This is a respiratory virus.
Our goal is to save every life possible through facts and science.
Smoking puts someone at a higher risk of a more severe case of COVID. In this, we are in agreement with @CDCgov guidance.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) January 15, 2021
Still, Murphy’s decision drew ire from some public health experts who argued that smoking is not a cause for early inoculation.
“This would not be a group that would bubble up to high priority,” Eric Topol, a cardiologist and the founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, told the Washington Post. “Just smoking doesn’t cut it in my view.”
Many teachers, who did not qualify for prioritization, are also perplexed by the decision.
“A lot of people were just blown away by that decision,” said Nick Zaneto, a teacher and coach at Metuchen High School. “It’s not a medical condition that you are a smoker. You’re making a personal choice to either vape or smoke cigarettes. As [teachers], we try to teach our students to stay away from bad habits like smoking, and this almost seems like a reward for those individuals.”
Other public health experts disagree, backing Murphy’s claim that smoking leads to weakened respiratory functions and requires immediate vaccination against the respiratory illness.
“The reality is, if the point of vaccination is to reduce the number of cases and therefore reduce the number of people who are hospitalized, then we need to create a vaccination plan that isn’t judging the worthiness of who needs to be vaccinated,” said Stephanie Silvera, an epidemiologist at Montclair State University.
Murphy’s controversial announcement comes as the Garden State struggles to contain the transmission of COVID-19. According to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker, New Jersey has had 610,619 cases of the coronavirus so far, with 20,320 deaths attributed to the disease.
