NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s requirement that infants and preschoolers in city-regulated child care or school-based programs must get yearly flu shots has been upheld by the state’s highest court.
The Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled that the city’s Department of Health had the authority to require the shots, a rule the city first enacted in 2013 during Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration.
A group of mothers filed a lawsuit in 2015, saying officials had overstepped their authority in requiring the annual vaccinations for children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years.
Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett says the ruling is a “great win for New York City children.”
A lawyer representing the plaintiffs did not immediately comment.
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