Students across all levels of schooling in Massachusetts will now be required to receive flu vaccines, a new mandate that state public health officials described as a step to reduce the impact of flu-related and respiratory illnesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vaccinations will be required from the age of 6 months on for attendees of state child care programs, preschools, K-12 schools, and colleges and universities, the Department of Public Health announced Wednesday.
Students will need to get their flu shots by Dec. 31 for the 2020-2021 flu season, unless they have a medical or religious exemption. Home-schooled K-12 students and college students “who are completely off-campus and engaged in remote learning only” will also be exempt.
“College students who attend any classes or activities on campus, even once, must be vaccinated by Dec. 31,” the department said in a press release. The new flu vaccine requirement will apply to full-time undergraduate and graduate students under age 30.
“Flu symptoms are very similar to those of COVID-19 and preventing the flu will save lives and preserve health care resources,” said Dr. Larry Madoff, the medical director for the DPH Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences.