Not Vaccinated, Not Enrolled?
When the COVID-19 vaccine is released, will it be mandatory for one to receive
immunization before returning to life prior to the pandemic? The argument for and
against mandatory vaccination has been alive for decades, and over the recent years,
another fire was ignited in California. California Senate Bill 277 made it no longer
possible to claim “personal belief exemption” from immunizations when enrolling in
public and private schools (Los Angeles Times, 2016). Questions of freedom and rights
sparked controversy and issues over the new law. After reviewing the imposed law, I
agree that claiming a personal belief exemption from immunization should not be
allowed if parents want their children enrolled in public or private schools.
The 2015 measles outbreak, that started in Disneyland, sprouted the need for a
new law that protected diseases from returning, especially in children. After the measles
outbreak, vaccination rates dropped, and fear of diseases spreading through children
called for a new law that would make vaccines mandatory. With the political battle
between legislators and people against vaccines, enforcing SB(Senate Bill) 277 heated
things up and started a new controversy. Public and private schools made vaccination a
necessity, threatening that students who are not fully vaccinated “run the risk of not
being allowed to attend school” (EdSource, 2017). In order to enroll in private and public
schools, children must be protected against ten diseases: Haemophilus influenzae Type
B (bacterial meningitis), pertussis (whooping cough), measles, diphtheria, polio, rubella,
mumps, tetanus, hepatitis B and chickenpox (EdSource,2019). The new law made it
very hard for parents to try to use exempts to get around immunizing their children
before enrolling in public or private schools.
July 1st, 2016, was the year California implemented a law on personal belief
exemptions (Los Angeles Times, 2016). The personal belief exemption was not valid
anymore, thus causing more children to be homeschooled. This lowered some of the
numbers of vaccinated children whose parents chose to homeschool them, but also
raised the number of vaccinations; the parents who did want their children in public or
private school. This call for action for a new law was also enforced to help the California
counties that had fallen short of reaching high immunity levels, which range from ninety
percent to ninety-five percent (Los Angeles Times, 2016). It is extremely important to
keep the immunity levels high because as they get lower, more children are at risk of
