As of this morning (Sunday, June 27th), 9,667,021 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered throughout the State of New Jersey and 4,937,670 individuals who live, work, or study in NJ are fully vaccinated. 

Over the last couple of weeks, the state has reported record low numbers of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. The Governor announced last Monday that the rate of transmission is almost exclusively measuring the spread of the virus among the unvaccinated.

Last week, the NJ Department of Health Commissioner also announced that the highly transmissible variant B.1.617.2, known as the “Delta variant”, has been detected in NJ. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention upgraded the B.1.617.2 mutation of COVID-19 to a “variant of concern”. It has been detected in at least 66 countries and seems to spread more easily and quickly than other variants. Children and young people seem to be the ones spreading the Delta variant in England. While this variant has increased in NJ recently, it is only about 7.3% of the variant reports that have been captured over the last 4 weeks.

So far, studies suggest that the authorized vaccines work on the circulating variants. In one recent study (not yet peer-reviewed), Public Health England researchers found that a two-dose regimen of the Pfizer vaccine was 88% effective against symptomatic disease from the Delta variant. 

With over 50% of the total population of NJ fully vaccinated and about 3/4 of the total population having received at least one dose, NJ’s vaccination program has made significant progress but there is still much work to be done. To find a location to receive your COVID-19 vaccine, click here: https://covid19.nj.gov/pages/finder. 

Have a good week. 

Sarah Neibart

Mayor, Mendham Township