California Lawmakers Pass Bill Requiring Vaccines For School Entry

Published June 25, 2015 at 12:40 PM CDT

Christy Pritchard carries her son, Zachary, 3, as she waits to appear before the Assembly Health Committee to voice her opposition to a measure mandating that schoolchildren be vaccinated at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, June 9, 2015. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

The California State Assembly has passed a bill that would require all children – except for those with medical wavers – to receive vaccinations before attending school. Current law allows for personal belief exemptions.

Many California parents choose not to vaccinate their children out of fear that it will cause autism or other medical problems, but medical professionals assert that there is no risk of such side effects.

The personal belief exemption came under fire after a measles outbreak in Disneyland last winter. If the vaccine bill becomes law, California will become one of only three states in the country – along with Mississippi and West Virginia – to eliminate all belief exemptions.

April Dembosky of KQED has been covering this and joins Here & Now’s Meghna Chakrabarti with details.

Guest

April Dembosky, health reporter for KQED in San Francisco. She tweets @adembosky.