• Health and Science

    “Opting Out”: New York City Flu Vaccine Exemptions

    As many of you know, the New York City Department of Health, at the instigation of then-mayor Mike Bloomberg, recently approved a new requirement for “all” New York City schoolchildren under the age of six to get an influenza vaccine in order to attend public school or day care. Most articles I’ve seen on the subject contain some version of this sentence: “Parents may opt out for medical and religious reasons.”