Editorial: Require Kids To Get Whooping Cough Vaccinations

A Sacramento Bee editorial argues that Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, could save $12 million or more annually if the Legislature approved a bill (AB 354) that would require students entering middle school to receive a whooping cough vaccine. The bill has stalled in the Senate Appropriations Committee because of "the general and unfortunate resistance to vaccines," according to the Bee. The editorial concludes that the legislation would "save money and, most importantly, lives."

• "Editorial: Whooping Cough Comes Back to Kill" (Sacramento Bee, 6/21).