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A recent measles outbreak has California lawmakers rethinking the state’s immunization policies, with state legislators weighing changes to personal exemptions to vaccinations and its two U.S. senators urging the end of all exemptions other than medical. So-called “personal belief” exemptions to immunizing children against diseases have come under scrutiny in recent weeks, sparking debate over whether parents should be required to vaccinate their children before they enter school. (Lazo, 2/4)

A group of state lawmakers announced legislation Wednesday that would abolish an exemption from the mandate that children get vaccinated before they enter school if it conflicts with their parents' personal beliefs. Surrounded by mothers holding babies, five lawmakers said during a Capitol news conference that the legislation was needed to address a trend among many parents not getting their children immunized against common diseases and the spread of some preventable illnesses including measles and whooping cough. (McGreevy, 2/4)

State lawmakers in California introduced legislation Wednesday that would require children to be fully vaccinated before going to school, a response to a measles outbreak that started in Southern California and has reached 107 cases in 14 states. California is one of 19 states that allows parents to enroll their children in school unvaccinated through a “personal belief exemption” to public health laws. The outbreak of measles that began in December in Anaheim’s Disneyland amusement park has spread more quickly in communities where many parents claim the exemption. (Gold, 2/5)

There is no official breakdown of the nature of the beliefs specified by parents. However, significant numbers of Americans think vaccines are harmful to the health of children, despite the absence of supporting evidence, and are egged on by a few medical professionals as well as some libertarians. Anti-vaccine sentiment is blamed in part for the current measles outbreak that began in California’s Disneyland in early December and has since spread to at least eight states and Mexico, with 103 cases in California. (Barbash, 2/5)

In Southern California many schools are facing tough questions about measles. California is one of 20 states that allow students to opt out of school vaccination requirements when those rules conflict with their parents' personal beliefs. Many affluent areas along the California coast are home to schools with some of the highest "personal belief exemption" rates in the country. And that is creating some tension for administrators and health officials, (Siegler, 2/4)

Gov. Jerry Brown, who preserved religious exemptions to state vaccination requirements in 2012, on Wednesday appeared open to legislation that would eliminate all but medical waivers. The governor's new flexibility highlighted a growing momentum toward limiting vaccination exemptions partly blamed for the state's worst outbreak of measles since 2000 and flare-ups of whooping cough and other preventable illnesses. (McGreevy and Lin, 2/4)

California’s two U.S. senators on Wednesday called on state officials to reconsider California’s policy on allowing exemptions to childhood vaccinations. Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, in a letter to state Health and Human Services Secretary Diana Dooley, said the two parental exemptions allowed under California law, on religious grounds or due to a personal objection made after consulting with a health professional, are “flawed.’’ The senators support exemptions for medical reasons, such as a child with immune deficiency. (Willon and McGreevy, 2/4)

Dr. Bob Sears, a pediatrician in Capistrano Beach, Calif., says that he strongly believes in the protective power of vaccines to save lives. But he's also well-known in Southern California as a doctor who won't pressure parents who refuse to vaccinate their children, or who refuse some vaccines, or who want to stray from the recommended schedule of vaccinations. "They all come to me because, I guess, I'm more respectful of their decisions, more willing to listen to them," Sears says, "[and to] discuss pros and cons and acknowledge that there are some side effects to vaccines." (Neighmond, 2/4)