COVID-19 vaccination requirements for assisted living and healthcare employees have been lifted in New Jersey following recent changes to federal requirements surrounding the pandemic.
Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed an executive order Monday lifting the remaining requirements that those settings maintain a policy requiring workers to be up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations. In April, he signed an executive order lifting routine testing requirements in congregate care and healthcare settings, including assisted living communities. The order also lifted vaccination requirements for employees in congregate care settings.
The new order applies to long-term care facilities and other healthcare settings and took effect immediately.
In signing the most recent order, Murphy said it aligned with updates to recent federal requirements and reflected the state’s different circumstances. But he added his support for staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations, which he called a “key public health tool to help protect our healthcare workers and patients in their care.”
Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that it would rescind and no longer enforce its rule requiring most employees of Medicare- and Medicaid-certified healthcare providers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to be eligible to participate in the federal programs. The rule applied to nursing homes and home health agencies, among other entities, but not assisted living communities.
Individual employers may continue to require vaccination or testing beyond statewide requirements, and the New Jersey Department of Health may continue to track vaccination data in healthcare settings.
“We commend Gov. Murphy for his recognition of the different environment in which our long-term care facilities now function, and appreciate his commitment to review COVID-19 policies and adjust them as circumstances change,” Health Care Association of New Jersey President and CEO Andy Aronson told McKnight’s Senior Living.
LeadingAge New Jersey and Delaware similarly expressed their gratitude for the updated order and said it would improve recruiting options in the industry.
“Our members have worked diligently during the pandemic to keep their residents safe and will continue to do so,” President and CEO James W. McCracken told McKnight’s Senior Living. “Long-term care workers have been heroic in their efforts. Resident and staff safety will always remain a top priority of our members.”
Senior living advocates previously praised Murphy for dropping the routine testing requirement in long-term care facilities, saying that it would help with recruitment of new staff.
In August 2021, Murphy signed an order requiring certain healthcare and high-risk congregate care settings to vaccinate all workers or submit to COVID-19 testing at a minimum of one to two times weekly beginning in September 2021. In January 2022, Murphy issued an order requiring those settings to require workers to be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations, including a booster dose.
New Jersey joins other states in dropping pandemic-related mandates in healthcare settings.
The Oregon Health Authority in April rescinded a 2021 order requiring working in health settings, including senior living settings, to wear masks. The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration followed suit in suspending all of its COVID-19-related rules.
California also lifted its COVID-19 masking requirements in healthcare settings, although two Bay Area counties — Contra Costa and Alameda counties — kept making rules in place in skilled nursing facilities. Los Angeles County also announced in April it was continuing masking requirements for workers in healthcare and direct care settings, as well as COVID-19 vaccination requirements for healthcare workers.
