New Jersey's Public Health Council now requires a flu shot for all children before they enroll in preschools and daycare centers. The mandate has infuriated many parents, hundreds of whom recently gathered in protest outside the statehouse in Trenton.

Parents flooded the statehouse, carrying signs with slogans like "Parent Power" and "My Child, My Choice," and chanting "No American should be forced to play vaccine roulette with their child." They rallied for support of a "conscientious objectors" clause, which would grant exemptions for children and parents who have a moral objection to the vaccination.

Existing state law provides for medical and religious exemptions to mandatory vaccinations, but parents say that requests are not frequently granted by authorities. New Jersey officials oppose any laws allowing parents to opt out of the vaccine.

Children 6-months to 5-years-old enrolled in a daycare or preschool have until December 31, 2008 to receive both the flu and pneumococcal vaccine. New Jersey requires the most childhood shots for day-care and school admission among all states in the nation.