To: Richard Bloom (CA-50)
Make Vaccines Mandatory to Attend California Schools
We are petitioning the California State Government to make vaccines mandatory for all K through 12 California school children, except for those with specific medical conditions. No one should opt out of vaccines for non-medical reasons.
We would also require all California K-12 schools to publish the current percentage vaccination rate of all enrolled students.
We would also require all California K-12 schools to publish the current percentage vaccination rate of all enrolled students.
Why is this important?
The California Department of Public Health declared pertussis (whooping cough) an epidemic in 2014, a sharp rise over the past four years. There was an outbreak of measles in 2014 as well. The Los Angeles Times and numerous other media sources have published data on vaccination rates in Southern California showing the widespread use of the “personal belief exemption” (CA Code 120365) by parents to excuse their children from mandatory vaccinations. Public health officials have tied the rise in pertussis and measles to the lowering of the vaccination rate. If this trend continues, the immunity of the entire population is threatened, especially those with weakened immune systems: the very young, the very old, and the like. This petition seeks to address falling vaccination rates by requiring all children to be vaccinated in order to attend California schools unless they have a medical condition that precludes it.