MA Requiring All Students To Get Flu Shot, Is NH Next?

There's some controversy surrounding a new requirement for Massachusetts students, including babies!

Earlier this week, the State Department of Health issued a ruling that "all students from  6 months or older who are attending Massachusetts child care, pre-school, kindergarten, K-12, and colleges and universities are required to get the flu vaccine by Dec. 31 for the 2020-2021 flu season, according to MassLive.

Governor Charlie Baker says the state is hoping to ease the demand on the health care systems with this preventative measure.

Worcester resident Jennifer Gaskin is one of those raising concerns, according to Masslive.

She says it's morally wrong to take away the choice from parents, telling Masslive:

“This is a very slippery slope and raises concerns that we may be further mandated to give our children the COVID-19 vaccine, which would not have been fully tested prior to release. We wouldn’t know long-term effects or anything based on the proposed timelines,”

In New Hampshire, health officials are urging people to get the flu vaccine, but it is not mandated, according to WMUR.

Beth Daly, chief of the state Bureau of Infectious Disease Control, tells the news channel:

"The more we can get people vaccinated against flu, that's going to help us in our response to COVID-19 in a couple different ways,"

Health officials also tell WMUR, that they don't plan to follow in Massachusetts footsteps by "mandating" the vaccine.