California is getting closer to closing a loophole in state law that some say is allowing parents to avoid getting their children vaccinated against diseases like measles. The Senate Tuesday approved a SB 276 which is meant to combat the growing number of fake medical exemptions being sold by some doctors.
Senator Doctor Richard Pan of Sacramento co-sponsored this new bill. He says, "medical exemptions for required vaccines have more than tripled since the passage of (the original vaccine law), putting kids and communities at risk." His new bill requires oversight of medical exemptions by the California Department of Public Health.
"SB 276 assures students who truly need medical exemptions will receive them and that the schools they attend maintain community immunity to keep them safe. Through passage of SB 276, we are taking a preventive approach to keep schools safe for all students by applying a model successfully used in West Virginia, which has not experienced measles in a decade," Pan added.
"SB 276 assures students who truly need medical exemptions will receive them and that the schools they attend maintain community immunity to keep them safe. Through passage of SB 276, we are taking a preventive approach to keep schools safe for all students by applying a model successfully used in West Virginia, which has not experienced measles in a decade."
Alternative healthcare practitioners, parents' rights organizers, and religious groups have opposed both bills and claim they infringe on the rights of patients who depend on the doctors to help them make health care decisions.
Pan concludes that recent measles outbreaks are a direct result some parents mistakenly believing the vaccines are more harmful than the disease. State health officials report 45 cases of measles in California during the first four full months of the year.