In light of the measles outbreak that began in California’s Disneyland, two state lawmakers said Wednesday, Feb. 5, they would introduce legislation making it harder for parents to opt not to vaccinate their children.
State health officials released new statistics on Wednesday revealing that 99 individuals were reported with measles, according to NBC News. The outbreak also affects 19 other states in the country and Mexico.
“The high number of unvaccinated students is jeopardizing public health not only in schools but in the broader community. We need to take steps to keep our schools safe and our students healthy,” California state senator Ben Allen, a Democrat co-sponsoring the bill, said in a written statement.
Health experts say those unvaccinated allow infections, such as measles, to spread. Tom Frieden, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director, told NBC he worries measles could take hold in the United States.
“We do not need to wait for a child to sicken or die before we act. And that’s what we’re doing here today,” said Democratic state senator Richard Pan, a pediatrician who is co-sponsoring the bill with Allen, according to NBC News.
A study in last month’s edition of the journal Pediatrics, it was found that there are pockets of under-vaccinated children in the state. In Northern California’s Marin County, for instance, 17.9 percent of kids did not receive the recommended vaccines between 2010 and 2012; in Vallejo, also in the northern region of the state, 22.7 percent of children were under-vaccinated.
California US Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, both of whom are Democrats, have also suggested the state’s opt out policy may need to be changed.
“While a small number of children cannot be vaccinated due to an underlying medical condition, we believe there should be no such thing as a philosophical or personal belief exemption, since everyone uses public spaces,” Boxer and Feinstein wrote to state officials, requesting they review the policy.
“As we have learned in the past month, parents who refuse to vaccinate their children not only put their own family at risk, but they also endanger other families who choose to vaccinate.”
If the bill passes, California will become the 33rd state to bar parents from opting out of vaccinating their kids based on personal beliefs.
(With reports from NBC News and Reuters)
