What California’s New Vaccination Law Means for Your Family

California has passed a new law eliminating the personal-belief exemption for vaccines effective July 1, 2016.

The new law requires all students enrolled in California public or private childcare centers, preschools, primary or secondary schools to receive childhood vaccinations against the following 10 diseases:

• Diphtheria
• Haemophilus influenza type b (bacterial meningitis)
• Measles
• Mumps
• Pertussis (whooping cough)
• Polio
• Rubella
• Tetanus
• Hepatitis B
• Chicken pox

How California’s new vaccination law works

The law includes children entering private or public school for the first time (grades K-12), day care or preschool, as well as children new to the state.

Students who are currently enrolled in school and have a filed vaccine exemption based on personal beliefs or religion are excluded from the law until they reach seventh grade.

Medical exemptions are accepted for certain reasons and must be in writing by a licensed medical doctor (MD) or doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO). Other health care providers can no longer provider exemptions.

If your child is home schooled

Students enrolled in a home-based private school or in an independent study program, and who do not receive classroom-based instruction, are exempt from the new vaccination requirements.

Please call your doctor if you have any questions about your child’s required immunizations.