Thursday, May 14,2015 - After a lengthy debate, California's State Senate passed Senate Bill (SB) 277 with an overwhelming vote of 25-10. SB 277 mandates vaccination for all California schoolchildren before they enter kindergarten. This practically abolishes "personal belief exemptions", which most other states are nevertheless holding onto.

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SB 277, introduced by Democratic senators Richard Pan (Sacramento) and Ben Allen (Santa Monica), first came to light as a result of a measles outbreak in Disneyland last December, affecting 136 Californians. Being a pediatrician himself, Senator Pan expressed his opinion on the need for vaccinations: "Vaccines are necessary to protect us. That protection has been eroding... The science is clear: Vaccines are safe and efficacious."

It's important to note, that while SB 277 prevents personal or religious exemptions from taking effect, valid medical exemptions are still nonetheless accepted. Also, the authors have stipulated in the bill that the number of required vaccines be kept at 10. A major compromise Senators Pan and Allen made is the stipulation that children who were unable to receive vaccinations when they were in the first grade would not be obliged to take it until they reach the seventh grade.

California is the third state to adopt this policy of non-exemption for personal and religious reasons. Mississippi and West Virginia were the first advocates of what in the Golden State is known as SB 277.

Nevertheless, despite all these changes, anti-vaccine parents refuse to be deterred. People who continue to question the efficacy of vaccines remain firm in fighting SB 277, claiming that the legislation infringes on their right as parents to protect their children from physical harm.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that while California Governor Jerry Brown has already shown his support for SB 277, there's a chance that he might want to include a religious exemption in the future.

TagsCalifornia Senate, vaccination, sb 277, personal exemption