Despite last minute changes to the bill that weakened some enforcement provisions, CAFP applauded the Governor for signing SB 276, a bill to improve and prevent fraud in physician-issued vaccine exemptions. The first effects of that law will be felt in 2020, as physicians who issue five or more exemptions will have their records reviewed to ensure they are complying with standard medical care, and not simply writing exemptions for patients they haven’t examined or actually determined to be vulnerable to vaccination side effects. Also part of SB 276, the California Department of Public Health will create a standard medical exemption form that physicians will be required to use, with the information from the forms cataloged in a new state database. CAFP believes these actions will help achieve the intent of the new law – to prevent physicians from selling and inappropriately issuing medical exemptions to anti-vaccine households.
