2 Of 3 NJ Families Approve Vaccine Mandate For Holidays: Survey

NEW JERSEY — Although you can still get into most places around New Jersey without proof of COVID vaccination, relatives' homes might not be one of them. Many families around New Jersey and the nation have been enforcing their own mandates this holiday season, according to a survey from medical malpractice law firm Duffy & Duffy.

The survey includes responses from 3,758 people around the nation. In New Jersey, 68 percent of New Jersey families said they would enforce their own vaccine mandates for holiday gatherings.

Sixty-eight percent of New Yorkers also said they wouldn't consider inviting a guest who wasn't vaccinated, while 58 percent of Pennsylvanians surveyed shared the same view.

New Jersey has the seventh-highest COVID vaccination rate in the nation, with 70.33 percent of people fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That's about 9 points higher than the national rate of 61.9 percent.

Vermont has the highest fully vaccinated rate of any state at 77.3 percent, but they're not as selective as New Jerseyans about vaccination status, according to the report. Sixty percent said they would enforce family vaccination mandates this holiday season, according to Duffy & Duffy Law.

But that's not far off from Idaho — the state with the lowest COVID vaccination rate at 46.16 percent of its population. Fifty-seven percent of the Gem State said they would enforce such a mandate.

COVID-19 vaccines provide some protection from transmission, but more evidence is needed to determine just how much each vaccine prevents spreading the virus, according to the World Health Organization. The WHO-approved COVID vaccinates have been effective in protecting against serious illness and death, the organization says.

But some Americans are creating their own boundaries when it comes to the shots. Thirty-three percent of millennials and 30 percent of Gen Z said they would cut ties with a friend, family member or acquaintance because they wouldn't get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to data from The Harris Poll provided first to Axios. Only 9 percent of Gen X and 7 percent of baby boomers said the same.

"It's the new cultural dividing line," John Gerzema, CEO of The Harris Poll, told Axios. "Three in 10 Gen Zers, and even more millennials, have ghosted friends who would not get vaccinated."

About two-third of respondents said they'd require attendees to be vaccinated if they were hosting an event, and 37 percent would require vaccination regardless of party size. But only 15 percent said they expect party hosts to require vaccination.

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have skyrocketed in New Jersey. State officials announced 20,483 new cases Wednesday — a pandemic-high for New Jersey — along with 50 confirmed deaths. The Garden State had 3,273 hospital patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 as of Tuesday — New Jersey's highest total since January.

How many households in each state have been enforcing their own vaccine mandates this holiday season? See Duffy & Duffy's interactive map below: