Gov. Jerry Brown Signs Strict School Vaccine Legislation

UPDATE: Most California kids will have to be vaccinated if they want to attend school in the state. Governor Jerry Brown has signed the mandatory vaccine bill into law.

The bill eliminates the personal belief exemption for children whose parents do not want them to be vaccinated.

In a signing statement, Brown said the "science is clear that vaccines dramatically protect children against a number of infectious and dangerous diseases.”

Brown acknowledged that there is a risk associated with medical intervention, but he says immunizations benefit and protect the community.

California is now the third state in the country to only offer a medical exemption for vaccines. Opponents of the measure say it violates children’s right to an education and parents’ right to make decisions for their families.

• Graphic of State Vaccination Exemptions, Medical, Religious and Philosophical (*not updated to reflect California's SB277)

-Katie Orr / Capital Public Radio

Original Post:

(AP) - Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a contentious bill to impose one of the strictest school vaccination laws in the country.

Brown says in a statement Tuesday that science clearly shows vaccines dramatically protect children against infectious diseases.

The bill strikes California's personal belief exemption for immunizations, requiring nearly all public schoolchildren to be vaccinated. While medical exemptions would still be granted to children with serious health issues, other unvaccinated children would need to be home-schooled.

SB 277 was introduced after an outbreak of measles at Disneyland in December infected over 100 people in the U.S. and Mexico.

California joins Mississippi and West Virginia as the only states with such strict requirements.