State to require annual flu shots for all students
Children as young as 6 months will need annual flu shots to attend preschool or day care under a plan to make New Jersey the first state to mandate influenza vaccines.
The Public Health Council, an advisory group, passed the new rules despite objections from parents fearful of side effects. The rules require yearly flu shots for children ages 6 months to 59 months (4 years and 11 months) as well as three other vaccines, including two for sixth-graders.
The new rules will not be finalized until state Health Commissioner Fred Jacobs signs the measure, though he has expressed vigorous support for the new vaccination requirements and is expected to act soon. The requirements are expected to take effect in the 2008-09 school year.
Public health officials said the measure will save children's lives and reduce the spread of potentially deadly disease. The rules will affect about 250,000 New Jersey children.
"The flu is one of the respiratory diseases we can prevent," said Eddy Bresnitz, the state epidemiologist.
Bresnitz cited a rash of 154 pediatric flu deaths nationwide in the 2003-04 flu season. He also pointed to an analysis by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia that reported 745 children hospitalized with flu from 2000 to 2004, more than three-quarters under the age of 5.
"I thought, 'Why aren't we protecting our children?'" he said, adding that children frequently spread the disease to family members and others in the community.
Yesterday's vote was five in favor, two opposed and one abstention, and followed protests from those skeptical of vaccine safety as well as government encroachment on parental autonomy.
"I'm gravely concerned about what's happening here today," said Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk (R-Bergen), a sponsor of a bill (A165) that would allow parents to opt out of the vaccine mandates by filing a "conscientious exemption" form with the local health department.
"With New Jersey reporting the highest incidence of autism and a cause yet to be identified, we don't know what will happen," she said. "What happened to our freedom?"
Sue Collins, co-founder of the New Jersey Alliance for Informed Choice in Vaccination, also opposed the rules. "New Jersey parents must be allowed to choose which vaccines their children will receive," she said.
The new rules say:
Some of those objecting worry about thimerosal, a preservative containing mercury used in some vaccines. Some autism groups point to thimerosal as a possible cause of autism.
Bresnitz said three of the four new vaccines required do not contain thimerosal. He called the trace elements found in the flu vaccine harmless, citing several studies. Nonetheless, he said parents can request thimerosal-free flu vaccine for their children.
Collins said some parents have found the thimerosal-free flu vaccine hard to come by.
Several pediatricians interviewed support the new rules.
"These are perfectly safe and beneficial to the public," said Michael Segarra, vice president of the New Jersey Academy of Pediatrics' New Jersey chapter. He said thimerosal-free flu vaccine is easily available.
"If that's the issue, that's not a problem," he said.
He also said older children need the vaccine to prevent meningitis, which leads to brain inflammation and can cause serious brain injury and death. The DPT booster shot can prevent pertussis, or whooping cough. "Sometimes we see this chronic cough in teenagers. It's pertussis," he said.
A spokesperson for Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey said the insurer will evaluate the new rules and generally covers all mandated vaccines.
Before the vote, Anne Downing of Readington, the parent of a 7-year-old autistic child, pleaded with the council.
"What causes autism? Please tell me," she said, describing how her daughter sometimes bites "chunks of skin" out of her arm. "Please come over and see what it's like living with a child of autism."
Voices such as hers have not swayed many of those in public health. George DiFerdinando, a physician with the UMDNJ School of Osteopathic Medicine in Stratford, called the new influenza rules valuable.
"We know influenza can kill and permanently damage children," he said.
Carol Ann Campbell may be reached at ccampbell@starledger.com or (973) 392-4148, Sue Livio at slivio@starledger.com or (609) 989-0802.
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