Proposed California Law Would Make It Nearly Impossible For Children Not To Be Vaccinated

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A state Senator and doctor wants to make it nearly impossible for children not to be vaccinated in California under a new bill.

Currently, parents who say they have personal beliefs against getting their children vaccinated can have a doctor sign off and the kid can go to school unvaccinated. This law would stop that practice.

"We should not wait for more children to sicken or die before we act," said state Sen. Richard Pan.

Surrounded by parents and babies, he and state Sen. Ben Allen announced legislation that would stop nearly all exemptions for childhood vaccines.

"In 2000 we declared measles eradicated from this country. Last year we had over 600—I think 644 cases of measles and we're on a trajectory to pass that this year," Pan said.

Under the proposed law, California would join only two other states what would only allow children to avoid vaccines in schools for medical reasons. Currently, California allows children to avoid vaccines for parents' personal beliefs.

"In too many schools, not enough children are immunized to prevent an outbreak," he said. "Our current laws are not strong enough to protect them or us."

So far, more than 100 people have tested positive for measles this year, with many linked ot visits to Disneyland.

Mother Shara Murphy of Sacramento joined lawmakers in the call for ending personal exemptions for children. Her baby Charley was born prematurely. But at nine months, she has three months before she can get a measles vaccination.

"It means for the next few months we delay family outings we delay seeing friends because we don't want her to be at risk," she said.

As for parents who avoid vaccinating their children because of a supposed link to autism, infectious disease pediatrician Dr. Dean Blumberg says they are wrong.

"There have been 10 well-done studies involving millions of children and there is no scientific evidence that is linking vaccines and autism," he said. "It's a non-issue."

Most of the fervor over the supposed link between vaccines and autism comes from a study published in The Lancet in 1998. That study was retracted in 2010 after concerns arose that its author had manipulated data to draw the connections he wanted.

The proposed law would be retroactive, meaning children who are not vaccinated, but are in schools would need to get vaccinated. It would also make it easier for parents to know vaccination rates at their child's school.