California Democrats are pushing to require vaccinations for more than a million children in the wake of the ongoing measles outbreak.
The legislation was introduced in both the House and Senate on Thursday by California Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, along with a number of California representatives. The bill — the Head Start on Vaccinations Act — would require all children who enroll in Head Start and Early Head Start programs nationwide to be fully vaccinated.
Parents of children in Head Start programs right now would be given three months to ensure vaccines are up-to-date according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended schedule.
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The bill comes in the wake of the ongoing measles outbreak, which has led to roughly 100 cases in California in the last two months, mostly among unvaccinated children. The outbreak has reignited a fiery vaccination debate nationwide. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, the vast public majority — 83 percent — says vaccines for diseases such as measles, mumps and rubella are safe for healthy children.
"We must protect the more than one million children who attend Head Start programs nationwide from preventable diseases like measles," Boxer said in a statement. "This legislation is an important first step in the broader effort to strengthen our vaccination policies at all levels of government to help prevent the spread of deadly diseases."
The House legislation is cosponsored by California Democratic Reps. Judy Chu, Jackie Speier, Adam Schiff, Doris Matsui, Diana DeGette, Rosa DeLauro and Mike Honda.
Parents could receive a medical exemption only if a qualified health care provider determines that their child has an underlying medical condition that would prevent them from being vaccinated, such as an autoimmune deficiency, chemotherapy treatment or a recent transplant. Currently, children can be exempted from vaccines for religious and personal beliefs.
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