New poll shows wide support for vaccine requirement in daily life

A new poll from Rutgers University shows broad support for vaccines as a requirement in many aspects of public life.

The COVID-19 vaccine is widely seen as a vital step for meaningfully and permanently returning to pre-pandemic life. Restrictions across the board have been lifted in the state over the past month, with more than 4.1 million New Jersey adults having gotten the shot, and the spread of the virus cratering.

A final tranche of reopenings went into effect the morning of June 4. Masks and social distancing are no longer required for indoor settings for anyone fully vaccinated. The Murphy administration’s self-imposed goals call for fully vaccinating 4.7 million adults by the end of this month, and efforts include incentives, perks and direct community outreach to get that final half a million arms.

And Gov. Phil Murphy said he’ll sign a law lifting the COVID-19 public health emergency, which has been in effect since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Under the law, he will be able to keep a broad array of powers in order to continue the vaccine efforts and respond to potential outbreaks, but those powers will expire at the start of next year.

Sixty-six percent of respondents supported a vaccine requirement for university students who want to return to campus, according to the June 4 poll from the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University, which relied on responses from 1,001 New Jersey adults interviewed by phone between May 21 and 29.

Many of the state’s largest universities are requiring students to get the vaccine before returning to campus this fall.

Sixty-one percent of residents said they would support some type of credential or “vaccine passport” that would establish evidence that someone was inoculated against COVID-19. Such a proposal has become a politically and culturally dividing topic across the nation, with GOP-led states enacting laws prohibiting the use of a vaccine requirement in daily life.

Under New Jersey’s current reopening guidelines, unvaccinated patrons have to wear face coverings, but short of customers showing their vaccination records, businesses will instead need to rely on their good word.

“If you’re not vaccinated, we expect you to have a higher standard of care … We’re not going to put the workers in harm’s way … What we’re very clearly asking folks is for personal responsibility, if you’re not vaccinated, we ask you to do the right thing,” the governor said on May 24.

But without a vaccine requirement or some means to verify someone’s vaccination status public health experts and labor rights groups said that many patrons will not wear the mask and simply lie when asked if they’ve gotten the vaccine.

“Sadly, I suspect there’ll be a minority of people who will do that,” the governor said.

Establishments like the New Jersey Performing Arts Center based in Newark said they will require patrons to show either proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test in order to gain admission.

The poll found that 61% of respondents supported a vaccine requirement for employees before they can physically return to work. Under the latest reopening guidelines, employers do not have to enforce mask usage and social distancing at their offices among fully vaccinated workers.

Ashley Koning, head of the polling center, noted an extreme partisan divide in responses.

“Like with many aspects of the pandemic, Republicans are in opposition to such requirements, while Democrats are in favor, and independents lie somewhere in between,” Koning said. “Vaccination status has also become another dividing line.”