The rollout of New Jersey's vaccination program for Covid is being more swiftly than Louisiana's, but one thing that is causing controversy there is that smokers between 16 and 64 are now eligible to get the vaccine before teachers and transit workers according to the Washington Post.

The decision to add smokers to the list of 'underlying medical conditions' in New Jersey has been the source of much controversy.

The state of New Jersey started their vaccination program, under federal guidelines, just like other states, with the health care industry, those over seventy and so on. As the guidelines are being expanded in the state, coordinators broadened the guidelines to those sixty-five and older. There has been a slow roll out of the vaccine, according to the Washington Post, so they state was taken steps to include more people in the revised guidelines.

The Washington Post points out that only seven and a half percent of the 'prioritized' population has even received the vaccine, so they are having a sluggish response in getting it to the people who need it.

The decision to add smokers had many people scratching their heads. People choose to smoke. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does say that smokers have more adverse effects if they contract Covid-19. There is no word on whether or not the state of New Jersey, their health department or Governor Phil Murphy might decide to either recommend or make a change in the policy in the face of the criticism that this move has generated.

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