Calif. axes ‘personal belief exemption’ from school vaccinations

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SACRAMENTO, California — Governor Jerry Brown eliminated the personal belief exemption from mandatory school vaccinations by signing into law June 30.

This year, 13,592 kindergartners in California were not vaccinated due to personal belief exemptions. Next year, that number will drop to zero, according to Kidsdata.org.

New research released last week shows that the state is home to 39 percent of the nation’s whooping cough cases, a vaccine-preventable disease, according to data available on Kidsdata.org. This is a vastly disproportionate share considering California’s population represents only 12 percent of the total U.S. population.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, can cause serious and sometimes life-threatening complications. The risk is highest for infants and young children. The number of pertussis cases in the U.S. has risen over the last decade. Some say the surge can be attributed to improved diagnostic techniques, lower vaccination rates, or possibly, a less effective vaccine that was introduced in 1991.

Across the state, vaccination rates vary widely. For example, the proportion of kindergarten students in 2015 who received all state-required immunizations ranges from 100 percent (Sierra County) to 72 percent (Nevada County). Across school districts, vaccination coverage varies as widely as it does between developed and developing regions around the world, according to Kidsdata.org.

Researchers have identified the need for more effective vaccines to ward off future pertussis outbreaks. In the meantime, they stress that vaccination is essential for people of all ages.

For more information, join us for Vaccination and Vaccine-Preventable Childhood Diseases: Data and Trends, a webinar on July 8 that will explore global, national, and California trends in vaccination and vaccine.

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