And not just for the weather! California has eliminated the personal belief exemption for vaccination requirements. All kids who want to attend public or private schools or day care facilities will have to be vaccinated on schedule or receive a medical exemption. I hope this is the start of many more states moving in this direction!
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/experts-california-vaccine-bill-prevent-outbreaks-32126568
grapefruit / 4355 posts
Honestly, I hated living in California while I was there. But I really hope more states follow suit because this new requirement is amazing!
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
@Truth Bombs: I am also happy with the change, but the grandfather clause is pretty huge! If your first grader is unvaccinated, they don't have to get vaccinated until 7th grade.
<< The authors also agreed to establish a grandfather clause, allowing students who currently claim a personal belief exemption to maintain it until their next vaccine checkpoint. Checkpoints occur in kindergarten and seventh grade. >>
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
I can't see my state doing this, but a girl can dream...
Go Cali!
grapefruit / 4321 posts
@mrbee: I agree... I didn't love that the check points were so far apart. But it's still a great start. And even with the grandfather clause, within 6 years there will be no unvaccinated (except medically exempt) kids in schools. Better than most states can say.
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
Amazing! I'll take the 7th grade check point, vs all school career long!
pomelo / 5257 posts
Ooh, I hadn't seen yet that the governor officially signed the bill -- thanks for posting! I'm a big fan of this measure and I hope more states follow suit.
cantaloupe / 6131 posts
To be fair, we had to pass this law because we had SO MANY outbreaks of terrible diseases, so, there's that. Hopefully people have the good damn sense to do something BEFORE you have measles outbreaks causing a nationwide panic.
grapefruit / 4321 posts
@gingerbebe: yes, it's sad that it takes something so drastic to spur change. I hope other states will learn from this and adopt these changes without having to be so directly affected.
pomelo / 5298 posts
@Ra: What are the other two states? Just curious as I wasn't aware this was the case in any other states.
pomelo / 5298 posts
@Ra: Oh interesting. Not states I would normally attribute as being progressive on this sort of thing.
hostess / wonderful apple seed / 16729 posts
I think it's great for CA but it's so expensive to live there. I could transfer and move to my company's CA site but from what I heard my company only increases income by 12% if I transfer. I've heard that the 12% is not enough.
I can dream about all the sunny weather I'll have.
pear / 1632 posts
You go ahead and move there then! Lol. Giving up your freedom of choice is not something to celebrate.
honeydew / 7586 posts
@jh524: How is it giving up your freedom of choice?! You can still choose not to vaccinate your children, you just lose the privilege of public schooling.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@jh524: Vaccines just too important for the protection of not only your child, but OTHER children, especially the immunocompromised.
ETA: Meaning, if your child is going to be around others (like in public schools), they should HAVE to be vaccinated - it shouldn't be a choice.
cantaloupe / 6059 posts
@Ra: Where I'm unclear is in the fact it states this will also affect private schools. In my mind that is a complete breach of rights -- I think a private school should be entitled to make their own decisions on the matter.
All that to say, I'm happy to have left California for a much more conservative, free thinking state four years ago.
nectarine / 2973 posts
I'm in California and am pro vax and vaccinate on schedule and I am not happy about this. People deserve the right to choose what goes into their children's bodies. Public schools I can kind of understand, but I do not think that this should affect private schools. Homeschooling just isn't an option for everyone. People deserve options and to make their own decisions and to be able to think for themselves and not have the government do it for them.
grapefruit / 4418 posts
I am so torn on this. I am very much so pro-vaccine, but something about the government regulating this type of thing just doesn't sit well with me at all. I don't know what the alternative is though, since vaccination is very important to public health.
pear / 1632 posts
It's our constitutional right for our children to have a free and appropriate public education in the U.S. Removing that right is unconstitutional.
If your child has a adverse reaction to one of the vaccines & their harmful ingredients, you will not get to choose as the parent not to get it again unless the child suffers severely enough to get a medical exemption. Even paralysis after a vaccine doesn't receive a medical exemption!
It removes your choice and that's sickening.
pomelo / 5298 posts
@jh524: Can you point me to the requirements for a medical exemption? I'd like to educate myself.
pomelo / 5621 posts
I'm pro vax but I think that this is a little much. It doesn't sit right with me that the children can't get an education if they don't get vaccinated.
watermelon / 14467 posts
I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. On one hand, I'm very much for vaccines, but I also hate the current schedule and how my daughter is getting so many vaccines at every visit. I also don't see why it needs to be a requirement to attend private school, since they receive no government funding.
grapefruit / 4321 posts
There are plenty of things in this country that we don't have a choice about because they put others at risk. I can't choose to murder someone. I can't choose to drive recklessly and endanger those around me. If I do, there are consequences for me. The issue at hand with vaccination is that your choice doesn't just affect you and your child, it puts others at risk. If people can't or won't make responsible choices, I have no problem with the government intervening.
grapefruit / 4321 posts
@avivoca: I'm interested to see if the private school requirement holds. I have no legal background whatsoever so I don't know if the state has the legal right to put restrictions on private schools that they don't provide funding to. However, as someone who went to private school, I like that they are included. I'm guessing some private schools will fight this, and others will like being able to impose the restriction and blame the state without having to be the "bad guy" to the few parents who are unhappy.
grapefruit / 4418 posts
@Truth Bombs: I would argue though that those choices don't have the potential to harm you. It's a really fine line in this one, I feel...
cantaloupe / 6059 posts
@Truth Bombs: I hope private schools fight this even if they DO require vaccinations at their school - and plenty of them do. But the government has absolutely no right to step in like that and require something for a school not receiving government assistance. Absolutely none. It's insane they were even included in this bill and frightening when I think of the precedent that sets.
pomelo / 5298 posts
Doesn't California have a voucher program for private schools? Perhaps that's why it's crossing over to private schools?
pineapple / 12053 posts
my child is vaccinated except for polio and chickenpox, but she would count as unvaccinated under this rule. it is insane to me that people are celebrating taking away parental rights. i would LOVE to see the cheers if this were a mandatory thing for any citizen, including adults... oh wait, there would be a huge outcry that we would force medical procedures on people. CA kids are already vaccinated at a >92% rate (higher for most vaccines, see the fact sheet below) and parents using PBE are mostly using it on a delayed schedule (like we would). i'm for vaccinations and for making the choice for my kid while maintaining my child's right for free public education in CA. i'm totally against this bill.
http://www.sb277.org/uploads/4/7/9/8/47988161/2014-15_child_care_and_school_fact_sheet.pdf
persimmon / 1096 posts
Bravo, Cali. And I'm pleasantly surprised to see that WV and Mississippi are on that list too.
I hope these three are leaders in the transition to all states requiring vaccinations to attend school, public or private. Lots of germy kids in a confined space for the majority of every week day, most of the year? And a few who are immunocomrpomised, already susceptible to illness and unable to get vaccinated, at risk if one of the personal belief exempt kids gets sick with measles? This is a no-brainer.
If you feel that strongly about it, homeschool your children. Nothing wrong with that.
grapefruit / 4110 posts
Thank god this is my last kid. I love living in Cali and can't imagine living anywhere else but this law sucks. My son was MSPI and the first two vaccines include dairy and soy. Can't get a medical exemption for this baby because she has never had a reaction to dairy or soy because she has never had them introduced. But I need to space the vaccines in case I see a reaction. If I do that I can't work because she can't go to daycare.
Now she is showing signs of fpies which means reactions to other ingredients. But that isn't enough to make a plan with my doctor to fully vaccinate on an alternate schedule to watch for reactions. That is why this is a terrible law. She will be fully vaccinated just slightly slower so we can watch her.
persimmon / 1096 posts
@brownie: Both my sons are MSPI as well. I have never noticed a reaction from vaccines, but certainly if your child has been diagnosed your doctor could write up a medical exemption?
I would hope so, because while I am totally in favor of this law, any child who needs a delayed schedule or cannot get the vaccines for medical reasons should be protected.
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