When Dr. Richard Pan, a pediatrician and state senator representing the Sacramento region, saw how a few of his fellow Doctors were profiting off the anxiety of families who fear having their children vaccinated by selling medical exemptions to these parents, he felt he had to step up and do something about it.
Resisting the pressure of an angry wave of anti-vaxxer advocates, he introduced the California SB 276 bill earlier this year to strengthen oversight of the medial exemption process. And while legislation can move slowly through both state legislature houses and finally to the governor’s desk to sign, Dr. Pan moved with a sense of real urgency. He could not afford to wait years or even a singe year to make it happen. As a state senator, a parent, a small business owner, a former UC Davis educator and a pediatrician, he knew that this was a matter of epidemic proportions, and there was no time to lose.
“Medical exemptions have more than tripled since the passage of SB 277 [the bill that was supposed to increase immunization rates by removing “personal belief” as a reason to refuse a vaccination]. Some schools are reporting that more than 20% of their students have a medical exemption,” said Dr. Pan. “It is clear that a small number of Physicians are monetizing their exemption-granting authority and profiting from the sale of medical exemptions.”
As a result of the implementation of Senate Bill 277, which abolished the personal belief exemption in California, overall vaccination rates increased sharply to more than 95% statewide. That is greater than the 94% vaccination rate necessary to achieve community immunity to prevent the spread of a measles outbreak.
The increase followed the dramatic increase from 92.9% in the 2015-16 school year to 95.6% in the 2016-17 school year after implementation of SB 277 in 2016 and a vaccination rate of only 90.7% in 2010-11.
Despite the success of SB 277 in increasing the overall immunization rate of kindergarten students, California has also experienced a dramatic increase in the number of medical exemptions. Since the passage of SB 277, the rate of medical exemptions has more than tripled (from 0.2% in 2015-16 to 0.7% in 2017-18). Low vaccination rates in certain pockets of the state put children and communities at risk. Senate Bill 276 has been designed to reshape California’s process to require state-level public health approval of all exemptions. It was co-sponsored by the California Medical Association; the American Academy of Pediatrics, California; and Vaccinate California.
Dr. Pan, along with Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez quickly assembled a broad coalition of Doctors, health care providers, public health officials, family and child advocates and parents. And in just six months, they were able to achieve what few in this slow-moving national toxic political environment are able to do. They passed the bill and were on hand to celebrate when California Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law.
Dr. Pan realizes there is more to be done, but he is thankful for this achievement. On the day of the signing, he said, “I thank Senate President Pro Tempore Atkins, Assembly Speaker Rendon and my legislative colleagues that have stood in support of children who truly require a medical exemption to protect them against vaccine-preventable diseases. I thank the governor for standing with science, and once again making California a leader in safeguarding children and communities from diseases that threaten our public health. It is my hope that parents whose vulnerable children could die from vaccine-preventable diseases will be reassured that we are protecting those communities that have been left vulnerable because a few unscrupulous Doctors are undermining community immunity by selling inappropriate medical exemptions.”
The hesitation to vaccinate on the part of a growing number of parents stems from misinformation such as the now retracted 1998 study that falsified data to purport a link between autism and the measles vaccine. The study was authored by Andrew Wakefield who was later found to be lying. Also, numerous subsequent studies worldwide involving hundreds of thousands of children have proved that vaccines are safe and do not cause autism.
As a legislator, Dr. Pan continues to practice Medicine at WellSpace Health Oak Park Community Clinic, pursuing his passion for working with families to build healthier communities.
Information Courtesy of https://sd06.senate.ca.gov
