Beginning July 1, 2016, all California schoolchildren will be required to have the appropriate vaccinations prior to enrolling in a public or private elementary school or child care center, unless the child has a medical exemption. The new law (SB 277) removes the personal belief exemption from the vaccine requirement. The new rules do not, however, apply to children participating in home-based private schools or independent study programs not requiring classroom-based instruction.

The California Medical Association (CMA) has created new resources and updated existing resources to aid physicians and the public in complying with the new requirement. These resources, available free to members in CMA’s health law library, include information on when children must be vaccinated, which vaccinations are required, and what information physicians must provide to parents or guardians regarding the risks, benefits and adverse reactions to a specific vaccine. The resources also discuss the disclosure of immunization information and reporting of adverse reactions to public health departments.

The available documents include:

• CMA On-Call document #3211, “Vaccine Administration”
• CMA On-Call document #3114, “Vaccine Administration: Mandated Information”
• CMA On-Call document #3603, “Vaccines, Drugs and Devises: Reporting Adverse Events”
• CMA On-Call document #4252, “Disclosure of Immunization Information”

On-Call documents are free to members in CMA’s online health law library at Health Law Library. Nonmembers can purchase documents for $2 per page.

Contact: CMA’s legal information line, (800) 786-4262 or legalinfo@cmadocs.org