Kean: Nursing Home Residents Failed Again by Murphy Administration

COVID-19 Vaccinations Delayed After Administration Misses Key Deadline

Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean said the residents of New Jersey’s long-term care facilities will have to wait an extra week to start receiving COVID-19 vaccinations after the Murphy Administration missed a key deadline.

“After more than 7,100 lives were lost in New Jersey’s nursing homes and veterans homes, you would think the Murphy Administration would waste no effort to ensure that the remaining residents would be vaccinated as quickly as possible,” said Kean (R-21). “Instead, those vulnerable seniors, our parents and grandparents, will remain at risk even longer over the Administration’s failure to file simple paperwork on time. That’s unbelievable and totally unacceptable.”

According to published reports, the Murphy Administration missed a deadline last week to provide the federal government basic information detailing the facilities that would receive the first round of vaccinations starting tomorrow, December 21st.

Due to the Administration’s late paperwork, the first round of vaccinations for the residents of New Jersey’s skilled nursing facilities, long-term care facilities, and assisted living facilities will be delayed by a week until December 28th.

Kean said the Administration has consistently failed to share information on its COVID-19 response efforts in a timely and transparent fashion.

Today, the Associated Press reported that New Jersey was one of just two states that declined requests to provide detailed breakdowns of emergency spending to purchase personal protective equipment and medical equipment during the public health emergency.

The Murphy Administration refused to provide the information, which should have been readily available and public already, saying it would be “substantially disruptive to agency operations.”

“Governor Murphy and his team might deserve some leeway if they were getting the job done in an effective manner, but that’s not what’s happening,” added Kean. “The Murphy Administration’s failures are going to leave the most vulnerable New Jerseyans unprotected for longer, and they’re simultaneously fighting efforts to be held accountable for their flawed response. That’s not good government in any way, shape, or form.”