PD Editorial: A shot in the arm for common sense

Despite the heat of controversy surrounding a new state vaccination bill, Gov. Jerry Brown signed it Tuesday before the ink could dry, making it mandatory that children who enter school, or day care, be vaccinated.

And in doing so, he included a statement that summed up the controversy in succinct terms. “The science is clear that vaccines dramatically protect children against a number of infectious and dangerous diseases,” Brown wrote in his signing message. “While it’s true that no medical intervention is without risk, the evidence shows that immunization powerfully benefits and protects the community.”

What wasn’t protecting the community was an exemption to the state’s immunization law that had opened the door to an alarming rise in diseases such as measles and whopping cough in many areas, including in Sonoma and Marin counties. The law allowed parents to bypass vaccination for reasons of religious convictions or personal beliefs.

This legislation, which passed the Senate on Monday and the state Assembly on Thursday, eliminates that exemption, making California one of the few states, including Mississippi and West Virginia, to have such strict rules.

For those who have clear medical reasons for why their children cannot be immunized, there’s still relief. Senate Bill 277 allows parents to receive a waiver in cases of children with medical conditions, such as allergies and immune-system deficiencies.

But that’s not likely to appease the critics. As evidenced by the letters to the editor published here in recent months, opponents argue that this change violates their right to protect the health and well-being of their child. Given that the only alternative for most parents who oppose vaccinations is to have their child home-schooled, they also argue it’s a denial of their child’s right to a public education.

But certainly those who support vaccines and wish to send their child to a public school without fear that they will fall victim to low immunization rates can make a similar claim. And for those with children who may be battling cancer or for other medical reasons aren’t able to be inoculated, the risk of attending a public school in the current environment is significant.

To ensure a safe “herd immunity” environment for public health, doctors say the immunization rate for kindergartners needs to be at least 92 percent. In more than one out of every four of public schools in California, the rate is less than that. In Sonoma and Marin counties, the rates of parents using the personal exemption is three times what it is in the rest of the state. In some west county schools, less than half the students are immunized.

The bill, co-authored by state Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, a pediatric physician, moved through the Legislature quickly following a measles outbreak at Disneyland in December that left 131 people sick.

Given all that, the Legislature and the governor had no choice but to come down on the side of good science and common sense. School children deserve no less.