Will vaccinated NJ high school students be allowed to go maskless next school year?

Mask mandates may be waived at New Jersey high schools sooner than elementary and middle school in the fall because teens have a head start on getting vaccinated for COVID-19 over younger children, Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday.

A day after he said all students will likely be required to wear a mask come September, Murphy suggested Wednesday that mask rules for schools and even summer camps are more fluid as COVID-19 numbers continue to drop and federal guidance may change.

"If the science suggested it, you can turn your mask guidance on a dime because it's easy," Murphy said at a briefing. "You just don't wear this the next day. So stay tuned."

The remarks came with New Jersey on the cusp of lifting its indoor mask mandate this Friday. One major exception is anywhere unvaccinated children congregate in large groups such as schools, day care centers and camps.

Because those 12 and older are eligible to be vaccinated, it would make sense to allow high school students to go maskless in the fall when full in-class instruction resumes, Murphy said. 

"Someone asked me, 'Do you think you can lift them in high schools before younger ages?'" Murphy said. "My answer to that is, 'Probably yes.'"

About 202,000 children age 12 to 17 had been vaccinated in New Jersey as of Wednesday, according to state Health Department data. That number is expected to rise steadily over the summer since those 12 to 15 only became eligible on May 12, while those 16 and up have been eligible for about a month in New Jersey.

Dr. Eddy Bresnitz of the state Health Department said the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may soon relax its guidance on wearing masks at summer camps. "That might impact what we say for camps in New Jersey," he said.

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While only seven children have died from COVID-19 in New Jersey, Murphy said he fears youngsters may still continue to spread the virus until they are vaccinated.

Children make up about 2 million of New Jersey's 9 million residents. No vaccine has been approved for those younger than 12.

Drug companies are conducting COVID vaccine trials on children under 12, and Murphy said vaccine eligibility may expand to that age group at some point, but "perhaps not by September."

Vaccine manufacturer Moderna said on Tuesday that its vaccine, currently only authorized for adult use, was effective for those aged 12 to 17 and it would seek federal approval to begin inoculating people in that age group. That could speed vaccination in adolescents if a second vaccine becomes available.

Earlier this month regulators approved the Pfizer vaccine, which was initially approved for use in people 16 and older, for 12- to 15-year-olds.

After slamming Murphy for waiting to lift the indoor mask mandate while most other states moved ahead, state Republicans have been criticizing Murphy, a Democrat, this week for not lifting the mask mandate for youngsters.

"Our children shouldn’t be singled out with an unnecessary requirement," said Sen. Kip Bateman, R-Somerset. "There’s no reason for it. The best thing the governor could do right now is quit micromanaging everything and remove all restrictions."

On the other side of the argument, a group of labor unions and other worker groups criticized Murphy Wednesday for lifting the indoor mandate.

The Protect New Jersey Workers Coalition, which includes unions that represent everything from janitors to warehouse workers, said too few New Jerseyans are fully vaccinated to lift the mandate.

More than 4.1 million New Jerseyans were fully vaccinated as of Wednesday, even as the rate of vaccinations has slowed considerably this month.

"I think this should wait because there are still people getting sick even with a mask," said Gloria Reyes, a Protect New Jersey Worker Coalition member. "And I don’t even want to think of the chaos that there will be if masks aren’t used because the virus is still present." 

Email: fallon@northjersey.com 

Twitter: @newsfallon