NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – New York state is “looking at” the possibility of mandatory flu vaccines for students, the state’s health commissioner said Thursday.
During a conference call with reporters, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker were asked about the possibility of mandatory flu vaccines for students returning to in-person learning this year, as Massachusetts has done.
“We’re looking at all these possibilities to see what we can do. I think the public health information is the first necessary thing to do, but we are looking at that as a possibility,” Zucker said.
“We’re going to be promoting the flu vaccine, and it’s important that people get their flu shot early this year,” Cuomo added. “It will be complicating with COVID. Symptoms for the flu are much like symptoms for COVID.”
“The flu season will also complicate the testing, because many of the testing labs that do the COVID tests also do flu tests, so it’s important that people get their shots,” Cuomo said. “I hadn’t heard of the possibility of making it mandatory, but Dr. Zucker said it’s something that he’s looking at.”
Zucker added that the state is “working with all the pediatricians about making sure kids get their flu shot.”
Cuomo previously warned that the flu season in combination with the ongoing coronavirus outbreak will pose a “host of complexities” this fall as students return to school and labs deal with a crush of flu and coronavirus tests.
“You put the flu season on top of COVID, this is a very difficult situation to deal with. And that is going to be the second wave,” Cuomo said in August.
Last month, health officials in Massachusetts announced that flu vaccinations would be required for all students 6 months and older who attend child care, pre-school, K-12 and higher education in the state.
The Massachusetts Department of Health said students are expected to get a flu vaccine by Dec. 31. There are some exemptions, including for medical and religious reasons. Also exempt are K-12 students who are homeschooled and higher education students who are completely off-campus and engaged in remote learning only.