Most N.J. teachers have been vaccinated, three months since Gov. Murphy’s mandate

Since a mandate by Gov. Phil Murphy took effect in October, most New Jersey public teachers and support staff have complied with the order to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, state data show.

Across New Jersey, with nearly 2,100 schools out of roughly 3,500 reporting, about 85% of teachers and staff are fully vaccinated, according to the latest statistics from the state Department of Health. Information is not released for individual districts.

In South Jersey, the rates for counties range from a high of 89% in Camden and 88% in Burlington, to 81% in Atlantic, Salem and Cumberland Counties. Gloucester was at 82% and Cape May at 84%, the state’s COVID-19 school-related dashboard showed as of Jan. 22. Districts self-report so not every school is included in the count.

» READ MORE: All N.J. teachers must be vaccinated, Gov. Murphy says

Last August, Murphy gave all teachers and state workers until Oct. 18, 2021, to comply, with anyone not vaccinated after the deadline required to get tested one to two times a week. The order applied to staff in all public, private, and parochial schools in preschool through 12th grade, as well as employees at public colleges and universities.

During his weekly coronavirus briefing Monday, Murphy said that anyone who fails to get vaccinated without good cause was akin to drunken driving, by putting others at risk. A Health Department spokesperson said the state is working to schedule vaccinations and boosters in schools for students, staff, parents, and others in the community.

In Pennsylvania, vaccinations are not mandatory for teachers, and no one collects statewide data on the vaccinations of school staff. Philadelphia teachers and staff must get vaccinated or undergo testing twice a week. As of October, about 85% of the district’s staff of 20,000 were vaccinated.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia’s full vaccine mandate now in effect; COVID-19 cases dropping across the region

In Cherry Hill, about 94% of the district’s 1,800 employees, including teachers, counselors, coaches and custodians, are vaccinated, said Superintendent Joseph Meloche. The district enrolls about 11,000 students.

Meloche said unvaccinated staff undergo testing twice weekly at the administration building. Testing is scheduled around shifts and conducted by a state-sponsored vendor, he said.

“We encourage people to do what’s right for them,” Meloche said. “But we respect people’s rights. For a variety of reasons, we have people who have not been vaccinated.”

Elsewhere in Camden County, the Haddonfield School District has a 97% vaccination rate among its staff and its contracted employees, said a spokesperson. The district has had more than a dozen vaccination clinics and offers some testing during school as well as before and after school, she said.

Camden Education Association President Keith Benson, who represents more than 1,000 employees in the district, said there has been little pushback from his members over vaccinations or testing.

“I have encouraged my members to get vaccinated from the very beginning,” Benson said Monday. “Considering we are in a pandemic, people are adjusting the best we can.”

Nearly 90% of Camden’s teachers are vaccinated, said Valerie Merritt, a district spokesperson. Unvaccinated staff are tested every Friday at two on-site locations, she said.

Paschal Nwako, Camden County’s chief medical officer, said he was encouraged by the vaccination for the county but worries that the districts that didn’t report may have low numbers.

”We want to make this 100%,” Nwako said.

Washington Township, among the largest in Gloucester County with nearly 650 teachers, is 90% fully vaccinated with the balance complying with Murphy’s testing order, said Superintendent Joseph Bollendorf.

In Woodbury, school Superintendent Andrew Bell said he stops short of advocating that staff get vaccinated. About 80% have so far been vaccinated, and Bell said he respects the rights of those who have not opted for the vaccination for personal or medical reasons.

“We just follow the executive order,” Bell said. “As long as folks are submitting to testing and coming back negative, we are fine.”

Bell said his Gloucester County district has not experienced any major staffing shortages due to teachers who tested positive and were required to quarantine. Two employees, unwilling to get vaccinated or get tested, resigned, he said.

”That’s a personal choice that folks are making,” Bell said. “Unfortunately you can’t have it both ways. You have to do one or the other.”

Penns Grove-Carneys Point Superintendent Zenaida Cobian was pleased by the positive response to the vaccination mandate in her district where 90% of the 425 teachers and staff are fully vaccinated. The district sponsored clinics open to the community, she said.

Cobian believes outreach and testing provided twice weekly has kept schools open for the district’s 2,300 students. The district recently had to shut down a kindergarten class because there were not enough teachers, she said.

“I firmly believe the kids need to be in school,” she said.

Inquirer staff writer Kristen A. Graham contributed to this article.