Experts: Vaccine Bill Would Increase Immunization Rates

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Immunologists and researchers say California's proposal to impose one of the strictest vaccination laws in the nation likely would boost immunization rates by changing parents' behavior.

Parents seeking to maintain medical choice have made impassioned pleas at the Capitol. Hundreds were rallying Tuesday ahead of an Assembly committee hearing on the bill.

But Dr. Mark Schleiss says a large portion of people claiming personal belief exemptions are not fundamentally opposed to vaccination. He is a pediatrician specializing in infectious disease at the University of Minnesota.

He says some parents simply find it more convenient to sign the back of a form or only partially vaccinate their children than to schedule full immunizations.

The California bill aims to increase school immunization rates by eliminating the personal belief exemption.