What will the new California law’s effect be on childhood vaccinations?
A recent California Law has outlawed a family’s personal and religious beliefs as reasons for refusing to vaccinate their child. The law requires that children enrolling in daycare or school be immunized against diseases such as measles and whooping cough. The only exemption to the requirement is for children with certain medical problems, including certain immune system deficiencies. If parents refuse to vaccinate their child, he or she loses the right to attend school or daycare and instead is relegated to a home-based private school or a public independent study program off campus.
Parents have organized in opposition to the law. California requires a certain number of signatures to be submitted before an opposition referendum can be placed on the ballot and be voted upon by voters at the next election. Parents recently compiled a list of 228,000 signatures, but fell short of the required 365,880 needed. Officials in Los Angeles County reported that 43,168 signatures were turned in. Such a high total is encouraging to opponents of the new vaccine law.
A bit of analysis of the bill reveals why it is so troubling to so many parents. While the risk of complications arising from vaccines is very small, it does exist. Therefore, there is a risk that a certain child will be forced to be immunized and as a result be injured simply because that child wants to attend school or day care.
Do not panic if your child has suffered a vaccine-related injury or disease. The experienced attorneys at the Law Offices of Leah V. Durant & Associates are experts in the field. We are located minutes away from the “Vaccine Court” in Washington, D.C. We will determine whether the injury is one that is compensable under the Federal Government’s National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Call us today at 202-775-9200.