Who gets to skip vaccines? California plan would put the state – not doctors – in charge

Dr. Richard Pan has fought the vaccine fight before. First, as a pediatrician in Philadelphia during a deadly measles outbreak. Then, four years ago, as a doctor-turned-lawmaker who battled death threats and a coalition of parents enraged over Pan’s 2015 legislation. The proposal — Senate Bill 277 — cut the personal belief exemption from a list of approved reasons not to immunize a child. Now Pan is taking his defense of California’s vaccination system a step further with a measure that would put the decision to grant any exemptions in the hands of a state public health official.