California legislature votes to tighten school vaccination exemptions
California legislators voted Monday to eliminate the state's personal belief exemption for required school vaccinations, The Associated Press reports. Only Mississippi and West Virginia have similarly strict laws on the books. Democratic senators introduced the bill after more than 100 people were infected in a measles outbreak originating at Disneyland, sparking a nationwide debate on whether vaccines should be mandatory.
The measure would not affect medical exemptions the state allows children with serious health issues. It would also grandfather in students with existing personal belief exemptions until their next vaccine checkpoint.
Gov. Jerry Brown (D) has not yet said whether he'll sign the bill, which doesn't have enough support to override a veto.
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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
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