© 2024 KUNR
Illustration of rolling hills with occasional trees and a radio tower.
Serving Northern Nevada and the Eastern Sierra
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
KUNR’s spring fund drive is happening now, and your gift to the station will go twice as far with a matching pledge from the KUNR Advisory Board!

Now is the time to act –
click here to make a gift to KUNR today or increase your sustaining membership and have it matched.

California Lawmakers Pass Bill Requiring Vaccines For School Entry

Christy Pritchard carries her son, Zachary, 3, as she waits to appear before the Assembly Health Committee to voice her opposition to a measure mandating that schoolchildren be vaccinated at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, June 9, 2015. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)
Christy Pritchard carries her son, Zachary, 3, as she waits to appear before the Assembly Health Committee to voice her opposition to a measure mandating that schoolchildren be vaccinated at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, June 9, 2015. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

The California State Assembly has passed a bill that would require all children – except for those with medical wavers – to receive vaccinations before attending school. Current law allows for personal belief exemptions.

Many California parents choose not to vaccinate their children out of fear that it will cause autism or other medical problems, but medical professionals assert that there is no risk of such side effects.

The personal belief exemption came under fire after a measles outbreak in Disneyland last winter. If the vaccine bill becomes law, California will become one of only three states in the country – along with Mississippi and West Virginia – to eliminate all belief exemptions.

April Dembosky of KQED has been covering this and joins Here & Now’s Meghna Chakrabarti with details.

Guest

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.