No shots, no school, no exceptions.

On January 1, Vaccine Law SB-277 goes into effect which prevents parents from exempting their children from school required vaccines on the basis of personal beliefs, such as religion.

Before the Law went into effect, parents opposed to immunizing their children could file a Personal Belief Exemption. This allowed them to enroll in public and private schools without having to show proof of their shots at the school benchmarks, Kindergarten and 7th grade.

Now, schools are not allowed to admit students after July 1, 2016 at the 7th and Kindergarten “checkpoints” who don’t have proof of the required vaccinations. These include Diphtheria, Measles, Haemophilus influenzae type b, Measles, Mumps, Pertussis (whooping cough, Poliomyelitis, Rubella, Tetanus, Hepatitis B, and Varicella (chickenpox).

This law was signed last year on June 30 by Governor Brown, after the Disneyland Measles outbreak. Its purpose was to prevent any more outbreaks such as this one, and the swine flu outbreak in 2009. It is recognized as one of the toughest vaccination laws that has been passed.

SB-277 has caused a lot of controversy, especially with parents who feel that the law violates their right to decide what’s best for their children. Anti-vax protesters claim that this law forces people into uncomfortable situations where they have to choose between their religion and attending schools.

“For no reason other than freedom, without prejudice on the pros and cons of various vaccinations both individually and on a broader statistical basis, no citizen should be made to get an injection of anything at the point of a gun. I absolutely oppose this legislation,” said Chris Thompson, president of the Fullerton Board of Trustees.

Another concern with that the law might force students with medical conditions to get a vaccine that could endanger their health. However, the law states that with a doctor’s detailed statement

that the immunization would be unsafe to a child because of a medical affliction then the child would be exempt from the required vaccines.

According to medical professionals, Governor Brown, and other supporters of the bill SB-277, this legislation is a big step forward in improving public health, and preventing another outbreak like the one that occurred at Disneyland. Even prior to the law going into effect, some medical offices stopped admitting patients who were not immunized to protect other patients.

“We have patients who are unable to be immunized because of their young age or chronic medical conditions who rely on having “herd immunity”  from the people they are in close contact with. When parents choose not to vaccinate their children, they are putting our most susceptible children at risk,” said Dr. Avendano of the Southern Orange County Pediatric Association.

Doctors argue that the reason that parents feel that vaccines are unnecessary is because vaccines themselves have been so successful in getting rid of diseases. Parents are unable to see how vaccines have eradicated disease, so they have become complacent in their immunization practices.