Flu shot deadline approaches
Parents in New Jersey have just a few days left to comply with a new law that requires their children to have flu shots or risk having their children forced out of school.
NJ flu shot law
Parents in New Jersey have just a few days left to comply with a new law that requires their children to have flu shots or risk having their children forced out of school.
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Transcript:
New Jersey is the first state in the country to require the flu vaccine for children in daycare or preschool.
The law allows exemptions for medical or religious reasons.
Louise Kuo Habakus is the spokesperson for the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice.
She says there are some families who don’t want the shot, but don’t meet those exemptions.
Habakus: They know that a religious exemption is available, but they don’t have a religious belief against vaccination.
The result, Habakus says, is leading parents to take drastic measures.
Habakus: We are hearing a certain number of parents say that they will not give their children the flu shot and if this is enforced then they will pull their children from school.
It is unclear how many children will not be vaccinated by the January 14 deadline.
The New Jersey health department will begin auditing daycare and preschools after the deadline, and if children are not vaccinated, the health department says those children will be asked to leave the school.
Habakus says her group is lobbying the legislature to expand the exemptions to include philosophical objections.
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