Gov. Brown signs strict school vaccine legislation

The governor of California has signed a contentious bill to impose one of the strictest school vaccination laws in the country.

Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown says in a statement Tuesday that science clearly shows vaccines dramatically protect children against infectious diseases.

The bill strikes California’s personal belief exemption for immunizations, requiring nearly all public schoolchildren to be vaccinated. While medical exemptions would still be granted to children with serious health issues, other unvaccinated children would need to be homeschooled.

SB 277 was introduced after an outbreak of measles at Disneyland in December infected over 100 people in the U.S. and Mexico.

California joins Mississippi and West Virginia as the only states with such strict requirements.