New Jersey
has become the first state to require flu shots for preschoolers, saying the
children’s developing immune systems and likelihood of spreading germs make
them as vulnerable to complications as the elderly.
Flu shots and three other vaccines will
be required for school children in New
Jersey starting next fall.
Over the objections of some parent groups, State Health Commissioner - Dr. Fred
M. Jacobs - approved the requirement and
three other vaccines for school children starting September 1, 2008.
Dr. Jacobs said the new requirements "will have a direct impact on reducing illnesses,
hospitalizations and deaths in one of New
Jersey's most vulnerable populations -- our
children."
The new requirement was approved by a health advisory board on a 5-2 vote
with one abstention after parents said they worried about the safety of giving
young children dozens of vaccine doses.
Some parents also say they don't want government making their medical
decisions.
Starting in September, all children attending preschool or licensed day care
centers will have to get an annual flu shot, Jacobs said. That makes New Jersey
the first state to require flu shots for preschoolers or older students,
according to the American
Academy of Pediatrics.
New Jersey also will require preschoolers
to get a pneumococcal vaccine and sixth-graders to get vaccines against
meningitis, which New Jersey
already requires for college dormitory residents, and a booster shot against
whooping cough, which in recent years has seen a resurgence blamed on waning
potency of shots given to infants and preschoolers.
The four additional vaccines are recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the American
Academy of Pediatrics and
other medical groups.
Some parents support proposed legislation that would give families a right
to skip required immunizations by lodging a "philosophical
objection," as some other states allow. The bill has been sitting in a
committee without action for several years.
New Jersey
does grant an automatic exemption on religious grounds and allows exemptions
for medical reasons.
The new vaccines will be available for free for low-income families, and
private insurers generally will cover the cost.
Jason - a Lumen
