Health officials have declared California's measles outbreak over, but the state's legislative response is just getting started.
The outbreak started at the Disneyland theme park in December and sickened 131 Californians and 16 people from other states.
The surging number of cases of a disease declared eliminated in the U.S. 15 years ago has put new pressure on public health officials and lawmakers to boost vaccination rates and end exemptions often chosen by parents who believe childhood vaccines are connected to rising rates of autism—a belief debunked again by new research published last week.
In response to the California outbreak, two legislators—a pediatrician and a former school board president—introduced a bill in the state Senate to limit “personal belief” exemptions to school vaccination requirements. The bill cleared another committee hurdle last week after co-sponsors Democrats Dr. Richard Pan and Ben Allen added amendments to exempt children who are home-schooled or are in a school-district-sponsored independent study program from the stricter requirements. The bill now goes before the Judiciary Committee for review.
Opponents and supporters alike predict more amendments will be added as the bill slogs through the legislative process.
Only Mississippi and West Virginia do not have laws allowing parents to opt out of school vaccination requirements for either religious or personal beliefs. As of February, bills aimed at tightening exemptions had been introduced in 12 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
