Protest Planned Against Last-Minute Bloomberg Push for Mandatory Flu Vaccines by Colin Campbell and Jill Colvin, politiker.com, 9 December 2013
Autism advocates are set to protest tomorrow against a quiet effort by Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration torequire annual flu vaccinations for all New York City schoolchildren under 5 years of age.
On Wednesday, with just three weeks to go until he leaves office, Mr. Bloomberg’s controversial Board of Health is set to vote on new rules that would force children as young as six months old to be immunized each year before December 31 if they attend licensed day care or pre-school programs.
“Young children have a high risk of developing severe complications from influenza. One-third of children under five in New York City do not receive an annual influenza vaccination, even though the vaccine safely and effectively protects them against influenza illness,” the Health Department said in a statement. “This mandate will help protect the health of young children, while reducing the spread of influenza in New York City.”
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