New Jersey takes charge of its own vaccination policies

🏛️ New Jersey breaks from CDC guidance, letting state health officials set vaccine policy independently for the first time
💉 School vaccine mandates unchanged, but insurers must cover state-recommended shots with no cost-sharing
⚖️ Gov. Murphy accuses federal officials of 'putting our most vulnerable residents at risk.'

TRENTON – For the first time, New Jersey has separated its own public health vaccine requirements from federal government guidance.

Outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy has signed legislation, which passed largely along party lines last month, aligning health insurance coverage requirements with the updated Department of Health immunization guidance.

On Tuesday, the first updates in 25 years to the state code on communicable diseases would be adopted in the New Jersey Register.

Before this, the state relied on recommendations by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Under the new law — which takes effect immediately — the state health department is not required to mirror federal guidance, instead basing state requirements on other professional health care bodies.

Read More: Despite CDC rollback, NJ keeps childhood vaccine guidance intact

State health officials gain authority over vaccine policy

Health officials are now legally required to consider recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American College of Physicians, as appropriate, in addition to CDC guidance.

The law amends the standards for schools and institutions of higher education to follow current public health best practices. No new vaccination requirements have been added for school attendance.

It also requires health insurers and health benefit plans to provide coverage for immunizations recommended by the state health department without any cost-sharing.

Partisan divide erupts over public health and vaccines

The measure passed the state Legislature largely along party lines, as 24 Republican Assembly members and 12 Republican Senators voted against it. A total of eight legislators did not vote.

“This year, we have seen the federal government diverge and waffle on evidence-based recommendations from trusted health professionals – rewriting federal vaccine guidance to the detriment of our communities and putting our most vulnerable residents at risk, particularly our children,” Murphy said in a written statement on Monday.

“We take seriously our responsibility to preserve and protect public health, which is why we have mobilized quickly to mitigate the harmful impact of these dangerous policy changes,” Murphy added.

“At the Department of Health, we are doing everything in our power to protect public health and to keep our vaccination infrastructure safe, effective, and based solely on evidence and science. Everyone is encouraged to stay up to date on vaccines to protect themselves and their loved ones,” Acting Health Commissioner Jeff Brown said in the same release.

“Over the past year, we have seen that ACIP’s recommendations are not reliably aligned with evidence-based recommendations from trusted health care professionals and risk causing major harm, especially to children,” he continued.

Read More: Public health collaboratives created by NJ, other U.S. coastal states

Measles surge and federal vaccine shifts fuel urgency

Measles cases have soared nationally to the highest levels reported since 1992.

Under previous vaccine efforts, the disease was deemed eliminated in the U.S. in 2000.

In August 2025, in light of ongoing federal policy changes, state health officials convened an Interagency Vaccine Workgroup to minimize interruptions to vaccine availability and coverage.

The group brings together leaders from the Departments of Human Services, Children and Families, Education, Banking and Insurance, Law and Public Safety’s Division of Consumer Affairs, and Treasury to enhance coordination.

Collective actions have included issuing orders and directives to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccines for all ages and the science-based recommended birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine.

The state has also worked to minimize public misinformation through the Northeast Public Health Collaborative and the Governors Public Health Alliance.

Most recently, the state affirmed that New Jersey’s childhood immunization schedule will not change, after an early January announcement by federal officials cutting the number of childhood vaccines considered “widely recommended.”

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