Posted on 12/14/2007 3:55:42 PM PST by Libloather
NJ requires flu shots for preschoolers
By LINDA A. JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer
TRENTON, N.J. --New Jersey on Friday became the first state to require flu shots for preschoolers, saying their developing immune systems and likelihood of spreading germs make them as vulnerable to complications as the elderly.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Fred M. Jacobs approved the requirement and three other vaccines for school children starting Sept. 1, 2008, over the objections of some parent groups.
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," Jacobs said in a statement.
A health advisory board Monday backed the new requirements 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 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.
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NJ health department site: http://www.state.nj.us/health
New Jersey Alliance for Informed Choice in Vaccination: http://www.NJAICV.org
New Jersey: No Flu Shots, No Preschool
ABC News - 1 hour, 54 minutes ago
Some parents oppose the state's mandate -- the first of its kind in the nation.
All your children are belong to us.
At this rate, they’ll require shots for homeschooled toddlers. I have nothing against immunizations, but this isn’t the way to do it.
And when the first kid dies from the vaccine, the Government will jump in and help bankrupt the manufacturer of the vaccine.
I watch people get sick every year after getting a flu shot. My ex’s grandfather played golf the day he got the shot, in the hospital the next day, in the ground by weekend.
I’ll take my chances with the REAL bug.
Sigh....ping
How about some for the bureaucrats too, taste of their own medicine.
I agree,Sudetenland !
Mercury Alert.
They're already overburdening kids' immune systems with these toxins.
I agree with you on this. I get the flu shot each year & so does my 8 year old daughter. She gets sick easily & so far it hasn’t been the flu. I am very concerned that so many parents are against shots for children. But then I’m from the generation that got the small pox (I think) the one that left the scar on your arm.
Thanks for the ping!
“I get the flu shot each year & so does my 8 year old daughter.”
All of us get flue shots in the fall and I always get a pneumonia shot, too. My nephew goes to high school (he’s home schooled most of the day but takes biology from the district) and he gets the shot to keep from bringing the bug home to his 80-year old grandfather. I’m aware that not everyone can be vaccinated; no criticism from me to others on this issue.
A flu shot won’t completely protect everyone because influenza mutates so quickly, lierally, from person to person as the virus moves through a population. However the more individuals vaccinated the less chance of an epidemic because less victims means a slower mutation rate. So even the unvaccinated are, to some degree, protected within a group where the majority are vaccinated.
Agreed. Too many parents send their kids to school when they’re sick because both parents are working. That puts other kids at risk and makes it easy to spread diseases around.
The drug companies. Do you have to ask?
Yeah them. Also, who lobbied the NJ legislator and how? and how many politician’s have family and friends with stock etc...maybe even made 100k in a few short months Hillary style. ; )
Sounds like felonies to me. DOJ needs to get on it.
Total unsupported crap!
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