California Governor Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed a bill
eliminating the state's personal beliefs exemption for school
vaccine requirements - legislation that was prompted by a
measles outbreak at Disneyland linked to low vaccination rates.
The new law, which makes California only the third state to
eliminate religious and other personal vaccine exemptions,
generated vociferous opposition from some parents, many of them
fearing what scientists say is a debunked link between childhood
vaccinations and autism.
"The science is clear that vaccines dramatically protect
children against a number of infectious and dangerous diseases,"
Brown, a Democrat, wrote in his signing message. "While it's
true that no medical intervention is without risk, the evidence
shows that immunization powerfully benefits and protects the
community."
In December, more than 100 people were sickened in a measles
outbreak traced to the Disneyland theme park in Southern
California.
Epidemiologists later said the outbreak was linked to
vaccination rates, which have dropped in parts of the state
where parents, many of them liberal and affluent, fear their
children will suffer side effects or develop autism if they
comply with recommended vaccine schedules.
California, like other U.S. states, mandated vaccinations for
school children decades ago, after it was shown that inoculation
could prevent such childhood scourges as polio, pertussis and
measles.
But the state allowed parents to opt out based on personal or
religious beliefs.
Brown's decision to sign the bill marks an about-face for the
governor, who three years ago opposed eliminating the religious
exemption for school vaccines.
Opponents took out a full-page ad in the Sacramento Bee, an
influential newspaper in California's state capital, urging him
to veto the measure by invoking the argument that pharmaceutical
companies are behind the push to vaccinate children.
"Governor Brown, what do you stand for?" read the ad by a group
calling itself Concerned Mamas and Grandmas. "People or
profits?"
In addition to parents in liberal communities like Santa Monica
and Marin County, religious conservatives also opposed the law,
saying it represented an erosion of religious freedom.
The new law does allow parents to obtain medical waivers from
vaccinations for their children.
It also gives many parents years to comply, grandfathering in
all personal beliefs exemptions filed before Jan. 1, 2016, until
children complete their "grade spans," defined as the years from
birth to preschool, kindergarten to sixth grade, and seventh
through 12th grades.