Governor Brown, DPH on Verge of Side-Stepping Law and Jeopardizing Health of CA Children
By Bruce Pomer
Health Officers Association of California
Vaccines are one of the greatest and most successful tools ever developed for preventing disease and protecting public health. Governor Brown and the California Department of Public Health, however, are on the verge of taking action that could violate California law, undermine the statewide effort to get more children immunized and threaten the health of all California communities.
California, like every other state, requires school-age children to obtain various vaccinations against childhood diseases. However, California also currently has a mechanism called a “personal belief exemption,” or PBE, that allows parents to opt their children out of mandatory vaccines simply by printing out a form and signing it.
Evidence suggests that some parents have based their decision not to vaccinate their children on