NJ weighs requiring flu, pneumonia shots for preschool, day care

Friday, January 26th 2007, 6:22 pm

By: News On 6

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ Children in New Jersey would be the first to need flu and pneumonia vaccinations to attend preschool or a licensed day care under a proposal that brought angry parents to a public hearing Friday.

Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, New Jersey's deputy health commissioner and the state epidemiologist, said the proposal was based on recommendations over the past couple of years from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other major medical groups.

``Children are the principal vector for transmitting influenza and other respiratory illnesses'' to other children, sick people and the elderly, and kids have high rates of hospitalization from flu complications, Bresnitz said.

Nationally, 108 of every 100,000 children younger than 5 are hospitalized with flu complications each year, and nearly 100 die, according to CDC.

State health officials also want 11- and 12-year-olds attending school to be vaccinated against whooping cough and a fast-killing type of meningitis.

But about 30 people at the public hearing said the state should not require more vaccinations for young children when studies about safety are weak or flawed, and there is limited information about how they might interact.

``We're pumping toxins into our children's bodies,'' said Sue Collins, co-founder of the New Jersey Alliance for Informed Choice in Vaccination. ``The government refuses to recognize the correlation between more vaccines and more disabilities.''

The health department will continue taking public comment on the issue through Feb. 16. If the proposal is approved, it could take effect in time for the new school year in September, Bresnitz said.