Narrowing Vaccination Exemption Laws: Lessons From California and Beyond
Authors: Michelle M. Mello
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2019)

Editorials3 March 2020Narrowing Vaccination Exemption Laws: Lessons From California and BeyondMichelle M. Mello, JD, PhDMichelle M. Mello, JD, PhDStanford Law School and Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California (M.M.M.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M19-3111 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail In their Brief Report, Delamater and colleagues report on the results of California's hard-fought battle to narrow the bases on which children may be exempted from school-entry vaccination requirements (1). Using data from the state Department of Public Health, they project the percentage of California schoolchildren with a vaccination exemption under 3 scenarios: 1) California law as it has stood since the 2015 passage of Senate Bill 277 (SB277), which permits medical exemptions but eliminated personal-belief exemptions (Table); 2) the law as amended by Senate Bill 276 (SB276), which was passed in September 2019 in an attempt to tighten the ...References1. Delamater PL, Buttenheim AM, Klein NP, et al. Assessment of exemptions from vaccination in California, 2015 to 2027. Ann Intern Med. 2020;172:362-3. doi:10.7326/M19-1933 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Wang E, Clymer J, Davis-Hayes C, et al. Nonmedical exemptions from school immunization requirements: a systematic review. Am J Public Health. 2014;104:e62-84. [PMID: 25211732] doi:10.2105/AJPH.2014.302190 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Buttenheim AM, Jones M, Mckown C, et al. Conditional admission, religious exemption type, and nonmedical vaccine exemptions in California before and after a state policy change. Vaccine. 2018;36:3789-93. [PMID: 29778514] doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.05.050 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Bloch M, Keller J, Park H. Vaccination rates for every kindergarten in California. The New York Times. 6 February 2015. Accessed at www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/02/06/us/california-measles-vaccines-map.html on 8 October 2019. Google Scholar5. Delamater PL, Leslie TF, Yang YT. Change in medical exemptions from immunization in California after elimination of personal belief exemptions. JAMA. 2017;318:863-4. [PMID: 28873152] doi:10.1001/jama.2017.9242 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Mohanty S, Buttenheim AM, Joyce CM, et al. Experiences with medical exemptions after a change in vaccine exemption policy in California. Pediatrics. 2018;142. [PMID: 30373910] doi:10.1542/peds.2018-1051 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Delamater PL, Pingali SC, Buttenheim AM, et al. Elimination of nonmedical immunization exemptions in California and school-entry vaccine status. Pediatrics. 2019;143. [PMID: 31113831] doi:10.1542/peds.2018-3301 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. McDonald P, Limaye RJ, Omer SB, et al. Exploring California's new law eliminating personal belief exemptions to childhood vaccines and vaccine decision-making among homeschooling mothers in California. Vaccine. 2019;37:742-50. [PMID: 30626531] doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.12.018 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Luna T. Vaccine bill protester threw blood on California senators, investigation confirms. Los Angeles Times. 2 October 2019. Accessed at www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-02/vaccine-law-protester-blood-california-state-senate on 8 October 2019. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Stanford Law School and Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California (M.M.M.)Disclosures: The author has disclosed no conflicts of interest. The form can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M19-3111.Corresponding Author: Michelle M. Mello, JD, PhD, Stanford Law School, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA 94305; e-mail, [email protected]stanford.edu.This article was published at Annals.org on 5 November 2019. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAssessment of Exemptions From Vaccination in California, 2015 to 2027 Paul L. Delamater , Alison M. Buttenheim , Nicola P. Klein , Salini Mohanty , Daniel A. Salmon , and Saad B. Omer Metrics 3 March 2020Volume 172, Issue 5Page: 358-359KeywordsChildrenFallsForecastingImmunityInfectious diseasesInternetLegislationMeaslesPrevention, policy, and public healthVaccines ePublished: 5 November 2019 Issue Published: 3 March 2020 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...