Vaccines in the News and MediaAs is often the case, especially in the fall with flu season ahead of us, vaccines are in the news. I live in California and one of the more important and terrible developments here is the passage of AB 2109. As I write this, Governor Brown is poised to sign it. Many people are appealing to him to veto it! I hope he does! Much to my surprise, comedian Rob Schneider, a new parent, is going out on a limb and testifying against AB 2109 in public and on the news. So what's AB 2109 about? California is one of the few states that offers philosophical, religious, and medical exemption from vaccines. While they don't advertise it (and in fact, many school officials don't even realize it), parents can opt out of the school requirement for vaccines here by signing a philosophical exemption form on the back of the vaccine certificate. AB 2109 will effectively make opting out of vaccines in California very difficult to achieve, both for philosophical and religious reasons. Why? It requires that a medical practitioner or school nurse also sign the exemption form. In a survey of doctors, the majority of them reported that they would refuse to sign this form and would eject patients from their practice for asking them to do so. And most schools in California do not have a school nurse. That means that opting out of vaccines in California will become the privilege of people who are determined enough to find a doctor who will sign the form, and wealthy enough to pay for an appointment, take time off from work, and travel the distance required distance to see them. The supposed justification for this bill is to make sure that parents are "educated" by their doctor when they decide to opt out. But as we all know, those who opt out of vaccines are usually the most educated about vaccines, not the least. Whither California goes, so goes the nation. This is a chilling new development. Please remember that your right to health freedom and the ability to opt out of vaccines is something you should never take for granted. Let's stem this tide before it spreads! Support the work of the National Vaccine Information Center, sign up to get their free newsletters, and join their advocacy team. On another media note: Check out the music of The Refusers -- an amazing rock band out of Seattle with an anti-vaccine message! Pretty awesome. |
