Health & Fitness
Mandatory Flu Vaccine For MA Students Goes Beyond This Year
Students enrolled in remote learning are not exempt from the mandatory flu immunization.
BOSTON — This won’t be the only year that flu vaccines are required for Massachusetts students. The vaccine will be mandated for all students going forward, said Marylou Sudders, the state secretary of Health and Human Services during Gov. Charlie Baker's Thursday news conference.
The immunizations will be required from the age of six months on for attendees of Massachusetts child care programs, pre-schools, K-12 schools, and colleges and universities, the Department of Public Health announced.
All public school students must get the flu shot by Dec. 31, unless they have a medical or religious exemption or are homeschooled, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said, noting the flu vaccine is "the smart thing to do."
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According to Polito, students enrolled in remote learning are not exempt.
Baker said the reasons for requiring the vaccine include limiting hospital admissions for the flu, getting all college students vaccinated and preventing flu symptoms from being misdiagnosed as the coronavirus.
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