Vaccine Rules Change For NY Students


New rules for school vaccines in New York take effect September 1. The updates impact students entering kindergarten through seventh grade.

The major change is that kindergarteners need to have all their shots done before they start school. Previously, they could be part-way through the set of vaccines for four- to six-year-olds and still go to class. The update also changes requirements for three vaccines that older kids get. It brings New York in line with federal recommendations from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The changes don’t apply to students going into eighth through twelfth grades, as long as they were up-to-date under the old rules. All students in public, private, or charter schools need to have vaccines in order to start school unless they have a medical or religious exemption.