SFMS Applauds Governor Brown, California Legislature for Passage of SB 277 June 30, 2015 Advocacy, News, Public Health vaccination, California legislation, Richard Pan, SB 277, SFMS advocacy 0 Today is a win for public health with the passage of SB 277 (Pan/Allen). Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill this morning, eliminating personal and religious belief exemptions for vaccines. "The science is clear that vaccines dramatically protect children against a number of infectious and dangerous diseases,” Brown said in a signing statement. “While it’s true that no medical intervention is without risk, the evidence shows that immunization powerfully benefits and protects the community." “This is a monumental day for Californians. Senate Bill 277 will help keep kids and communities safe and I thank Governor Brown and my colleagues in the State Legislature for their commitment to enacting this important law,” said Dr. Richard Pan, California State Senator and pediatrician. SB 277 eliminates the personal belief exemption from school vaccination requirements, barring parents from skipping their children’s school-required immunizations unless they have a medical exemption from a physician. The bill was proposed following a recent rash of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in the state. Since December 2014, California has had at least 136 confirmed cases of measles across more than a dozen counties. Nearly 20% of those cases have required hospitalization. SFMS and the CMA are part of the “I Heart Immunity Campaign” that include organizations from every county in the state including health groups, parent advocates, local governments, school officials, and more. On behalf of 1,600 San Francisco physicians and physicians-in-training, SFMS would like to recognize Senators Richard Pan and Ben Allen for their leadership in authoring this bill, Senator Mark Leno and Assemblymember David Chiu for co-authoring and championing the legislation, and the entire California State Legislature for sending it to Governor Brown. SB 277 is based in fact and science and will help increase community immunity across the state. This is sound public health that will keep our kids safe and communities healthy. Click here to view Governor Brown’s signing statement. Comments are closed.
