The
debate over the safety of vaccines
continues to rage. Star-Ledger family reporter Peggy O'Crowley writes about the
benefits and potential harmfulness of vaccines
in our PGToday section.
Last week, Peggy covered a forum hosted by Deirdre Imus, president of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology at Hackensack University Medical Center. And yes, she's married to Don Imus.New Jersey is the first state in the nation to mandate that children 6 months to 5 years old who attend child-care centers or preschools receive a flu and pneumoccocal vaccine. Children in the sixth grade must receive meningococcal/diptheria and tetanus/pertussus vaccines.
A bill pending in the state Legislature would allow parents to opt out of the vaccines.
A range of activists and experts at the forum weighed in on whether vaccines' role in disease prevention should be weighed against any evidence that links them to autism and other diorders.