California Senate approves SB 277

The controversial school vaccine bill SB 277, which met several protests by supporters and opponents of the bill, has been passed by California Senate on Thursday by a vote of 25-10. The bill aims at improving the vaccination rates among children in the state. The senate has permitted medical exemptions, but the exemptions based on personal and religious objections will not be permitted.

Now, the bill will go through the Assembly. It would not offer any option to parents in the state to opt out of state immunization requirements on the basis of their personal beliefs. According to reports, only those children will be excused from vaccinations who have medical problems like weakened immune system. The medical problems should also be verified by a physician.

Sen. Benjamin Allen, who co-authored the bill with Sen. Richard Pan, said, “The legislation is about increasing immunization rates so no one will have to suffer from vaccine-preventable diseases”.

If the SB 277 bill becomes law in California, the state will join the country’s 32 other states that have eliminated a personal-belief exemption from vaccine requirements. According to Senator Richard Pan, a number of parents in the state have been refusing to immunize their kids, which don’t know that they are putting other children with low immune systems at risk. Vaccines protect an individual, but the protection has been eroding, Pan added.

Senate Republican leader Robert Huff of Diamond Bar is among the people who have opposing the bill. Huff said that there is no need to pass the bill. The recent measles outbreak that started at Disneyland has ended now, Huff added. According to Huff, the crisis that was seen will not rise to the level where an individual has to give up the personal freedoms.

The vote on Thursday was 25 to 10 and most of the Republicans did not favor the bill. GOP Sens. Andy Vidak of Hanford, Jeff Stone of Temecula and Anthony Cannella of Ceres said yes to the bill.