Opting out of vaccinations could get tougher in California

[WestVirginiaRebel]

CNN:

(CNN) -- The re-emergence of some vaccine-preventable diseases has prompted the California legislature to consider a bill that would make it more difficult for parents to opt out of vaccinating their kids.

The legislation would require that parents get counseling from a doctor before opting out of immunizations for their children.

Last year, the United States saw its highest number of reported measles cases in 15 years, even though the disease was eliminated from the country in 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

One theory behind this rise, according to Dr. Richard Pan, the state assemblyman who introduced the bill, is that the recent trend away from immunizing children. That's why he wants to make it more difficult to bypass vaccine requirements in his state.

Jillian Edwards, a 27-year-old mother of two, is one of a number of parents who are not at all, or only partially, immunizing their kids.

"In the first year of their life, the kids get like 15 shots, which is so much for such a tiny body," Edwards said. "I think it was more the likelihood of them catching the disease versus the likelihood of them having a bad reaction."

Dr. Steven Nishibayashi says that's a common sentiment among many parents when it comes time to immunize their kids -- even though it's not backed by science. "Most of the fears about immunizations are not well founded," he said.

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Some common sense coming out of California?