The visit takes place as the Tri-State area prepares for the impending expansion of the vaccine eligibility pool.

As reported by abc7ny.com, Harris arrived Friday morning at Newark Airport and was greeted by Governor Phil Murphy, First Lady Tammy Murphy and other officials before taking part in a roundtable discussion at Montclair State University to push President Joe Biden’s early childhood education plans.

She presided over the roundtable with Governor Murphy, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, and five educators where she highlighted “the significance of supporting our children, supporting our parents.”

The Vice President also made a pitch for the child care funding in the Build Better Act. “Our nation is strongest when everyone is able to participate,” she said. “This is fundamentally what the issue is about when it comes to working parents.”

Today, @VP and I visited a COVID-19 vaccination site at Essex County College in Newark. Every shot gets us closer to ending this pandemic and moving forward to brighter days ahead. Get yours: https://t.co/DpwxnEAPpS pic.twitter.com/4SVg19u8Fk

— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) October 8, 2021

The Biden administration is pushing for expanded child care as part of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package that is being held up in Congress.

You can read: Murphy: Vaccination for school students “on the table”

Harris visited the vaccination site at Essex County College where she thanked workers. “I wanted to come by and thank you all for your work,” she said. “You guys are holding it down, and you’ve been holding it down. So thank you all, it means so much. I know it feels endless, but it’s not. There will be an end to this.”

Doing the right thing

She watched people receive the vaccine, telling them they were doing the right thing. “It will save your life, it’s free, it’s safe,” she told one recipient. “It’s about you, and it’s about everyone around you. This is an expression about love thy neighbor.”

“New Jersey is one of the top 10 states in the country because of vaccines,” she said. “The challenge is, this is one of the most densely populated states. So it’s not like it’s easy to do it.”

More than 700,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 as the delta variant spread, even as millions of others refuse to get the vaccine.

The post VP Kamala Harris visited New Jersey to address child care and vaccination appeared first on El Sol News Media.

According to New Jersey Council of County Colleges President Aaron R. Fichtner, of the 18 community colleges in the state, only Essex County College as of Tuesday is mandating student vaccinations.

As reported by Rob Jennings from NJ.com, the colleges´ vaccination status displays a sharp contrast to some of the state’s best-known universities, including at least four who set last Sunday as the deadline for students to submit documentation of being fully vaccinated against the coronavirus unless granted a medical or religious exemption.

Health officials at the state and national level have been encouraging additional vaccinations to stem a rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths accelerated by the spread of the delta variant.

“Community colleges are commuter colleges. There’s a balance between trying to open the doors of economic opportunity to people and being restrictive,” said Fichtner, explaining that community colleges are promoting vaccinations and also encouraging students who are unwilling to consider enrolling in online courses.

Passaic County Community College is giving away laptop computers to five vaccinated students per week, said college president Steven M. Rose. “We’ll keep doing that.”

No residential students

Rose explained that the reluctance to require student COVID-19 vaccinations is in line with community college trends elsewhere. “Very, very few community colleges around the country are requiring vaccinations at this time.”

You can read: Vaccine requirement for workers in NJ health care facilities

“We don’t have residential students. Residents halls are not an issue,” said Rose, citing one factor cited by universities in mandating vaccinations.

Rose added that community college students “always are a little more transient” and might be more inclined to skip a semester if uncomfortable with a vaccination requirement and that studies show that students who interrupt their education do not always return.

“Community college students often are dealing with a whole lot of obstacles in their lives. We’re trying not to put another one out there,” Rose said.

The post Most NJ community colleges do not mandate the COVID vaccine appeared first on El Sol News Media.