Children attending daycare or preschool in New Jersey will be required by law to get a flu vaccine this year. 

 

Beginning in September, children ages six months to five-years-old will need the flu vaccine before they can attend daycare or preschool. 

   

New Jersey State Epidemiologist Tina Tan explains why they're requiring the vaccine:

 

"A lot of kids in that age group are particularly susceptible to influenza and particularly could have a lot of high risk complications from getting influenza."

 

Children will have a four-day grace period to get vaccinated, beginning the day they start attending preschool or daycare.  

  

Also, any children who will start attending after January 1st will have to have their vaccination before December 31st.

   

Tan says flu shots are constantly monitored for safety. The Centers for Disease Control and prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend children get vaccinated.