I am glad for this science-based decision for the common good, and I fully support the proposed law. At the same time, I hope that state and county authorities will embark on a campaign of education and empathy to provide reassurance to people who will experience the state as heavy-handed in trumping personal choice. We need to cultivate a sense of civic duty and belonging, so that people are glad to contribute to the social good, instead of dismissing their concerns.

Let's be rigorous on the science and kind to the people.

Steve - via the 2012 law, kind counseling is already being done. It's helped some, but not enough. Too many of them are hyper-fearful science deniers and conspiracy theorists. I doubt even the completely avoidable and tragic death of the 6 year old boy in Barcelona is enough to convince them. The serious outbreak of 300 measles cases wasn't enough to convince them. And one mom recently had to be led out of the hearings for this bill while screaming that her child is more important than other children. Sen Pan now has a personal security detail. Scientologists and black Muslims gave joined the fight, as has an unhinged anti-gay group. Check out the fringe who aren't being stopped by their more balanced counterparts:

Web Link

I hope Brown signs it and I hope that non-vaccinating parents without medical exemptions will start to be held accountable for their choices.

I'm glad to see Senator Pan, the Legislature and the Governor act so quickly and decisively after the recent measles outbreak at Disneyland.

This common-sense measure will have an immediate and positive impact on the citizens of California.

From watching a Frontline report and reading articles during the timeframe of the Disney Measles outbreak from established news outlets like the Associated Press and Forbes, the anti-vaccine crowd that used the personal belief exemption tend to be rich people with no religious objection, hence the development of the "personal belief" legal language, and who are not science deniers, but who think that the scientists are missing their own observations, e.g. when the onset of autism occurred in relation to getting a vaccine. All the studies done, no matter by whom, showing no link gives them no solace. Places like Malibu and Atherton are more likely to have non-vaccinated kids than places of lower economic wealth. The wealth, and hence political savvy, of the anti-vaccine crowd are also probably why the personal belief exemption came into being. Basically, there had to be a number of public health breakouts of whooping cough and measles to get this law passed. One commentator in Forbes noted that parents of unvaccinated children may be liable for the deaths of other children in these outbreaks who were vaccinated or could not be for medical reasons. Things were starting to move against the anti-vaccine crowd. So attributing this anti-vaccination movement to "fringe" groups seems a bit of a rewrite of history, unless of course you consider wealthy people a fringe group. The sad thing is, of course, children had to suffer due to the lowering of herd immunity, and I do have compassion for the parents of children who developed autism, and they wonder why my child, and turned to vaccines as the culprit. I hope they look ahead to helping their children live the best lives they can.

Menlo Parker - IIRC, the lowest vax rate locally is amongst the students of Peninsula School in Menlo Park.

You may want to check out the article link I posted in my comment yesterday. Gov Brown #1 made the PBE possible due to reactions from several factions comprised of women's rights, conservationists, anti-gov't and uber-eco types. Combine their concerns with the suspicion of gov't post-Watergate and the result was PBEs.

Depending on what report you read/hear, the anti-vaxxer demographic may be misrepresented. But there are generally two factions of the most active and vocally opposed: wealthier lefties and conservative righties, often religious righties. Depending on where in the country you are you'll find more or less of these factions. Now there are also Black Muslims included. There has always been anti-gov't sentiment amongst them and the far right, so it's not surprising that they're anti-vaxx.

At this point in Calif public health history over the past decades, we now have more than one generation of families going unvaccinated.

The privileged whites are the most troublesome because their sense of entitlement seems to have caused them to believe that they understand vaccine science and epidemiology. Clearly, they're wrong. Check out the stark scientific reality of the unvaccinated boy dying in Spain of diptheria the other day vs the pseudo reality his parents bought into. Let's hope that the vaccinated children also bring treated were correctly vaccinated and don't become ill.

It bothers me that the pharmaceutical companies are shielded from liability associated with these vaccines:

"In a closely watched case, the high court ruled 6-2 that federal law shields vaccine makers from suits filed in state courts seeking compensation for injuries or deaths due allegedly to avoidable design problems with the vaccines".

"Supreme Court Upholds Liability Shield For Vaccine Makers"
NPR ~ February 22, 2011 Web Link

Citizen 7 - don't you understand why they're shielded? It's part of a public health policy. Also, the gov't has a vaccine damages court that has a pretty low bar of "proof" needed and will even pay a complainant's filing fee. It's much more efficient than if the companies weren't shielded.

Citizen 7 -

Vaccines are the least profitable product produced by big pharma. Large quantities, low prices. In fact they are so unprofitable that few companies even bother to make them anymore.

One of the reasons that drug companies stopped making vaccines is that they were being sued so frequently prior to 2011. Many of the suits were speculative and had questionable links to the actual vaccine.

It seems disingenuous to assure the public that vaccines are unquestionably safe, mandate that their children are inoculated.... but insist that you can still sue manufacturers for problems. You shouldn't be able to have it both ways.

Re: vaccines link to autism - That theory has been disproven & discarded. The doctor who first publicized & promoted it later admitted that his theory was wrong and he & his research have been widely discredited.
The other proponent for this fallacy is Jenny McCarthy, a celeb of some sort who speaks publicly, referencing her son. It's recently been determined that her son's problems are not actually autism but some other pscho-social disorder.

Wakefield wasn't just discredited, he committed fraud and lost his medical license. It wasn't like he made a mistake, he committed a serious crime.

Has anyone read "Vaccine Epidemic"? Web Link

Anti-vaxxer propaganda? Really?

Pathetic.