CA bill to kill personal-beliefs exemption for vaccines stalls

A bill requiring all children in California public schools to be vaccinated for such diseases as polio and measles stalled in the legislature Wednesday, amid opposition from parents who fear vaccines will harm children's immune systems or cause autism. The bill is one of several under consideration in U.S. states aiming to forestall a loss of group immunity as parents take advantage of so-called personal beliefs exemptions, which allow them to forego vaccinating their children before sending them to school. Along with Democratic state Senator Richard Pan of Sacramento, a pediatrician, Allen introduced the bill after a measles outbreak that began at Disneyland last year shed light on the growing number of people who refuse or slow their children's vaccine schedules.