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California Senate Passes Tough Vaccine Law

California's set to go from being one of the most liberal states when it comes to vaccines, to being among the strictest.
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/ Source: The Associated Press

California lawmakers on Monday sent the governor a contentious bill that would impose one of the strictest school vaccination laws in the country in reaction to a recent measles outbreak at Disneyland.

The Senate reaffirmed the bill striking California's personal belief exemption for immunizations on a 24-14 vote. Mississippi and West Virginia are the only two states with such strict requirements in place.

Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown has not said if he would sign it.

Parents opposed to the bill vowed to take legal action even though the issue has been upheld in court, including by the Supreme Court.

"I will sue to put my child in school," said Jude Tovatt of Roseville and the parent of an 8-year-old child. "I will not run from the state that is our home."

Other parents cheered the legislative vote and immediately turned their attention to swaying Brown.

"I know that he is very pro-science and that's really what this bill comes down to: leadership in public health, and supporting evidence-based science," said Hannah Henry, mother of four from Napa who started Vaccinate California, a parental group that supports the bill.

Brown has 12 days to decide.

"The governor believes that vaccinations are profoundly important and a major public health benefit, and any bill that reaches his desk will be closely considered," governor's spokesman Evan Westrup has repeated in recent days.

Democratic Sens. Richard Pan of Sacramento and Ben Allen of Santa Monica introduced the measure after last winter’s measles outbreak that started at Disneyland sickened 147 people in the U.S. and Mexico. It applies to public and private schools, as well as day care facilities.

"The science remains unequivocal that vaccines are safe, that vaccines save lives," Pan said.

If the bill becomes law, medical exemptions would still be granted to children with serious health issues.

Children whose parents refuse vaccination can try to obtain a medical exemption or be homeschooled. Otherwise, school-age children who currently claim a personal belief exemption will need to get fully vaccinated by kindergarten and seventh grade, the state's two vaccine checkpoints.

The California state assembly passed the bill along to the Senate last week.