BE FOLLOWING BREAKING NEWS, NEARLY ALL MASSACHUSETTS STUDENTS, DA CARE, PRESCHOOL, COLLEGE, YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO GET A FLU VACCINE BEFORE DECEMBER 31. THIS IS TO MINIMIZE THE HEALTH IMPACT THROUGH THE PANDEMIC OF FLU SEASON. THERE ARE EXEMPTIONS, MEDICAL AND RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS MUST BE PROVIDED IF APPLICABLE. HOMESCHOOLED STUDENTS AND COLLEGE STUDENTS ENGAGED IN REMOTE O
DPH: Flu vaccine required for all students of Massachusetts schools
Flu shots will now be required for all students in Massachusetts schools, from child care through colleges, the Department of Public Health announced Wednesday. Students older than six months will have to be vaccinated by Dec. 31, unless either a medical or religious exemption is provided.”The new vaccine requirement is an important step to reduce flu-related illness and the overall impact of respiratory illness during the COVID-19 pandemic,” officials wrote in an announcement of the new policy. Students who are homeschooled are exempt from the policy, but health officials said students at elementary and secondary schools that are using a remote learning model are not exempt. College or university students who are entirely off-campus will also be exempt from the mandate. DOWNLOAD: Updated table of school immunization requirements from DPH”Every year, thousands of people of all ages are affected by influenza, leading to many hospitalizations and deaths,” the medical director of DPH’s Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences, Dr. Larry Madoff, said in a statement. “It is more important now than ever to get a flu vaccine because flu symptoms are very similar to those of COVID-19 and preventing the flu will save lives and preserve healthcare resources.”
BOSTON —
Flu shots will now be required for all students in Massachusetts schools, from child care through colleges, the Department of Public Health announced Wednesday.
Students older than six months will have to be vaccinated by Dec. 31, unless either a medical or religious exemption is provided.
“The new vaccine requirement is an important step to reduce flu-related illness and the overall impact of respiratory illness during the COVID-19 pandemic,” officials wrote in an announcement of the new policy.
Students who are homeschooled are exempt from the policy, but health officials said students at elementary and secondary schools that are using a remote learning model are not exempt.
College or university students who are entirely off-campus will also be exempt from the mandate.
- DOWNLOAD: Updated table of school immunization requirements from DPH
“Every year, thousands of people of all ages are affected by influenza, leading to many hospitalizations and deaths,” the medical director of DPH’s Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences, Dr. Larry Madoff, said in a statement. “It is more important now than ever to get a flu vaccine because flu symptoms are very similar to those of COVID-19 and preventing the flu will save lives and preserve healthcare resources.”
