California Medical Exemption Hearing
This week, health professionals and advocates gathered for a hearing focused on California’s medical exemption system. Their goal? To convince lawmakers to make changes to the existing law.
At a Senate Health Committee meeting on Wednesday, testimonies were presented regarding a bill designed to revise California’s medical exemption policy. Specifically, it aims to allow medically fragile children to attend school without needing vaccinations.
Amy Bohn, the president of the civil rights organization Perk Advocacy, addressed the committee, emphasizing the struggles faced by vulnerable children. “California’s children are suffering right now, and medically vulnerable children are being denied access to education,” she stated.
Introduced this year by Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones, R-San Diego, the proposed SB 1377 would eliminate California’s current medical exemption laws related to school immunization requirements.
In its place, this legislation would mandate that physicians follow accepted care standards when assessing the validity of medical exemptions, rather than those set by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
Moreover, the bill would ensure that children cannot be denied access to education, schools, or childcare based on their medical exemption status or treated differently from their peers.
Dr. Richard Fox, a pediatrician with 48 years of experience in California, shared with the committee the challenges parents face in obtaining medical exemptions under current law. “Parents sometimes contact me seeking medical exemptions. I uniformly decline because I routinely see physicians lose their licenses,” he remarked. “I won’t go anywhere near such exemptions; the penalties for being wrong are too severe.”
Fox pointed out that while California laws seem accommodating on paper, they fall short in practice. “There are too many landmines and no safe harbors,” he said.
Darrlene Alquiza, CEO of Informed Policy Advocates, expressed that if passed, Jones’ bill would bring essential updates to California’s vaccination laws. “This bill will return physician rights to grant medical exemptions to their patients, rather than relying on the Department of Public Health’s approval,” she mentioned.
She further noted that the bill would be crucial in ensuring that children with existing medical issues are not denied education simply due to their vaccination status. “This bill is an important first step to remedy overly strict vaccine mandate policies in California,” Alquiza added.
Jones, in his remarks, clarified that SB 1377 “is not an anti-vax bill.” He emphasized, “This bill does not question the efficacy of childhood immunizations. This bill puts doctors back in the driver’s seat when it comes to care for our children, where they have always belonged.”
However, when the committee voted on SB 1377, it was defeated by 4-3. Opponents, including Dr. Dean Blumberg, a pediatrician specializing in infectious diseases, argued that California’s existing law should remain unchanged. “SB 1377 would eliminate the current oversight and enforcement mechanisms that ensure medical exemptions are issued for legitimate medical reasons. Now is not the time to eliminate the system that works and does not need fixing,” Blumberg asserted.
Regardless of the committee’s decision, Alquiza highlighted the significance of the bill’s introduction, noting that two Democrat co-authors supported it, which bodes well for their movement.
