NJ School Outbreaks, Latest COVID Pediatric Vaccine Data Released

NEW JERSEY — The number of new coronavirus outbreaks in schools across New Jersey has remained steady this week as the number of children ages 5 to 11 getting vaccinated has increased fivefold, state officials said.

However, only 24 percent of New Jersey residents eligible for a booster injection have done so, officials said during Monday afternoon’s COVID-19 press conference.

An additional 12 new COVID-19 outbreaks have been reported in Garden State school districts in the past week. The total since the start of the school year has grown to 160. In the past two weeks, there were 11 each.

The 54 new student cases bring the total number of student cases to 735 since the start of the school year. That number is on the decline, Governor Phil Murphy said. There were 12 new cases among staff, bringing the total to 125.

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New Jersey also saw an increase of five cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, bringing the total number of cases to 141 since the pandemic began in March 2020. While it’s the biggest increase in cases in a while, the rates are still lower than they were around this time last year, state physician Edward Lifshitz said.

“This isn’t something you get from anyone,” Lifshitz said. “You get COVID, and then it’s a matter of how your body responds to that infection. It’s a rare infection and unpredictable which child will get it, but you wouldn’t expect it to run in families, or areas or cities. “

Childhood Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) is a condition in which various parts of the body can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. Anyone who sees symptoms should seek help right away.

The number of children ages 5 to 11 who received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine reached 47,390 on Monday, compared to 9,116 students in that age group who were vaccinated on Nov. 8. Read more here: 9K NJ Kids Received First Dose of COVID Vaccine So Far

“That’s more than five times what it was a week ago today,” Murphy said. “For parents, I would say vaccinating your child is the surest way to get them back to their normal routines. With every child being vaccinated and entering a classroom with an educator who has been vaccinated and sitting among their peers who have been vaccinated , the closer we can get to removing the masking requirement in our schools.”