New Jersey is on course to become the first state to require flu shots for children as young as 6 months. The expansion of state vaccination rules is controversial, but it is a smart, reasonable way to help prevent the spread of dangerous illness.
The new regulations will require yearly influenza vaccinations for children 6 to 59 months to attend preschool or day care. Children 2 months to 59 months also will have to get yearly pneumonia vaccinations. And sixth-graders will need a diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus booster as well as a meningitis shot.
The rules are all but a done deal. Health Commissioner Fred Jacobs has to sign off, but he is a vigorous supporter. So the requirements likely will be in effect for the 2008-09 school year.
That has sparked virulent opposition from some parents. Their worry is understandable but unfounded.
The chief concern is that thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative used in some vaccines, may cause autism. Numerous reputable physicians and scientists insist there is no reliable evidence that the trace elements in vaccines are harmful.
The new rules, however, don't force parents to take the chance. They may request thimerosal-free flu vaccine. Since there have been reports that the thimerosal-free formula isn't always easy to find, the state should ensure that doctors throughout New Jersey have it -- and that insurance carriers cover it, just as they do other vaccine formulas.
The argument that the state is overly intruding on parental autonomy is also overblown. The state has a legitimate interest in reducing the spread of flu among young children.
The public health benefits of vaccination far outweigh the minuscule risks. Legislation by Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk (R-Bergen) to allow parents to opt out of the vaccine mandates by filling out a "conscientious exemption" form is misguided.
The law already allows reasonable exemptions. Kids who are home-schooled, who attend parochial school or who don't attend preschool or day care don't have to get the shots.
Waivers are available if a doctor determines the vaccination might harm a child or if a vaccination would genuinely conflict with religious practices.
Flu puts hundreds of young children in the hospital every year and can be fatal. The 2003-04 flu season produced 154 pediatric flu deaths nationwide.
Mandatory vaccinations can aggressively reduce that tragic record, just as they have reduced cases of measles, mumps and other diseases. The flu vaccination requirements are no more intrusive than the long-standing rules requiring inoculation for those other conditions.