California governor Jerry Brown has signed into law a bill imposing one of strictest school vaccine requirements in the US, ending days of speculation over whether he would veto the controversial law.
Brown said in a statement Tuesday that “the science is clear that vaccines dramatically protect children against a number of infectious and dangerous diseases”.
The bill, which passed its final vote in the state legislature on Monday, bans exemptions from state immunization laws based on religious or other personal beliefs. It was introduced after an outbreak of measles at Disneyland in December infected more than 100 people.
The law would require nearly all public school children to be vaccinated against diseases including measles and whooping cough, with exemptions only for children with serious health issues.
California joins Mississippi and West Virginia in having the strictest vaccination requirements in the US.
