California

Sen. Barbara Boxer Pushes For Vaccination Legislation

At a time when California is gripped in one of the worst measles outbreaks in recent history, several lawmakers are pushing for new legislation that would ensure more children are protected against measles and other transmittable diseases.

California Sen. Barbara Boxer joined state Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, a pediatrician, on Wednesday morning on a tour of a Head Start center in Emeryville, California — a place where every child is vaccinated — to address the importance of vaccinations for children as young as preschool.

"When we take our children and grandchildren to school, to a park, to a daycare center, or to a Head Start program, we deserve to know that they will be safe, especially if the child has a weakened immune system,'' Boxer said.

More than 140 people in 17 states have contracted the highly contagious respiratory disease that can cause pneumonia, brain damage and death. Of those infected, 113 visited or worked at Disneyland or had contact with somebody who was there.

Also troubling, Boxer said, is that in more than one quarter of California schools, the measles immunization rate for kindergarteners is below the 92 percent threshold that doctors say is critical to protect public health.

To end that, Boxer wrote the Head Start on Vaccinations Act to ensure that the more than one million children in Head Start and Early Head Start nationally are fully vaccinated, including more than 100,000 children in California.

The only exception will be for children who have a medical condition that would prevent them from being vaccinated, such as an autoimmune deficiency, chemotherapy treatment or a recent transplant.

"And this isn't just about measles - last year, there were more than 10,000 cases of whooping cough in the state of California,'' Boxer said. "At the same time, we are seeing troubling signs here in California that a growing number of parents are not getting their children fully vaccinated.''

Along the same lines, Pan and state Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, will soon introduce legislation to repeal the state's personal-belief exemption that allows parents to opt out of vaccinating their children. The measure will also help ensure that parents are notified about the vaccination rates at their child's school.

There will be critics, including plenty of parents who choose not to vaccinate their children amid worries that shots trigger autism in children.

California is not alone in promoting vaccines. In Michigan, a statewide rule change that took effect Jan. 1 requires parents wanting a philosophical or religious waiver for childhood vaccinations to first be educated by a local health department about the risks.

In Washington, under a measure that received a public hearing before a House committee on Tuesday and drew critics, parents would no longer be able to cite personal beliefs or religious reasons to send unvaccinated children to private and public schools.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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