What do California, West Virginia and Mississippi have in common? Stumped?
Thanks to a recent law signed by California Gov. Jerry Brown, these three states now have strict vaccine policies that require children to be vaccinated before entering school, unless they have a medical exemption. The new requirements eliminate religious and philosophical exemptions.
Stanford's Michelle Mello, JD, PhD, and David Studdert, LLB, ScD, (along with co-author Wendy Parmet, JD) heralded the change in a New England Journal of Medicine commentary published this week. From a Stanford News release:
"The move represents a stunning victory for public health that affects not only California schoolchildren, but the prospects for strengthening vaccination requirements nationwide," they wrote.
The new laws come in the wake of a measles outbreak that started at Disneyland last year. It fueled a nationwide debate about the merits of vaccines, and of the large number of children unvaccinated due to parental objections.
The new California law requires all children enrolled in private and public schools and day-care facilities to be vaccinated against measles, whooping cough and several other diseases.
Yet the law is sure to face challenges, particularly from opponents who say it violates their religious rights. In addition, a lack of enforcement may weaken the law's ability to ensure widespread protection.
Nonetheless, California's new law is worth celebrating, they say:
"Although California politics may be distinctive, its experience with SB277 teaches us that even strong opposition can be overcome with the right combination of astute public education, political strategy and legislative fortitude," they wrote. "Fewer vaccination exemptions and vaccine-preventable illnesses would be accomplishments that other states would find difficult to ignore."
Previously: A discussion of vaccines, "the single most life-saving innovation ever in the history of medicine", Science Friday-style podcast explains work toward a universal flu vaccine and Side effects of childhood vaccines are extremely rare, new study finds
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