Legislators have worked on a number of bills this session related to immunizations. On Friday, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed one of them into law.
SB 659 by state Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) requires tuberculosis screening to be included on the state’s immunization registry. That will help health officials coordinate TB immunization efforts, Negrete McLeod said, because parents now won’t need to prove immunization with their yellow-card record.
“By allowing these results to be included in the state registry,” she said, “parents will have an easier time demonstrating compliance with the requirements of local school districts.”
SB 659 is one of several bills dealing with vaccinations approved by the Legislature this year. The two highest-profile ones are still awaiting the governor’s signature:
- AB 2109 by Assembly member Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) would require a letter from a provider for parents who want to opt out of vaccinations for their children.
- SB 1318 by Senate member Lois Wolk (D-Davis) would make clinics and other health facilities institute measures to increase flu vaccination rates among health care workers.