Make Vaccines Mandatory to Attend California Schools

The California Department of Public Health has reported a sharp rise in the incidence of pertussis (whooping cough) over the past four years, declaring this disease an epidemic in 2014. There was an outbreak of measles in 2014 as well. The Los Angeles Times and numerous other media sources have published data on vaccine 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 (known as ‘herd immunity’). Dangerous communicable diseases will spread further, and will also affect people who have been vaccinated—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.