Although SB277 has passed and the uproar around the bill has seemingly calmed, anti-vax forces apprehend a new goal in contention with the vaccination bill.

By Dominic Tovar

Those opposing SB277, which removes the personal belief exemption from school vaccination requirements, have been gathering signatures to recall the role of Senator Richard Pan, M.D., author of the bill. The goal of this action would be to put the discourse around vaccinations on the radar of political attention again, possibly igniting a revamp of SB277.

This course of action makes sense for the anti-vaxxers because it would be cheaper compared to the large sum of money it would take to qualify the ballot measure. Voters in the Sacramento-area would be the only district to have the ability to cast a recall election.

In the Santa Cruz area, a large community of individuals opposing SB277 have been present as rallies in front of the county building have been organized earlier in the year. “Santa Cruz County has one of the lowest immunization rates in the state, according to the California Department of Public Health. In the county, 9.5 percent of kids have a personal belief exemption — nearly four times higher than the state average” (Via Santa Cruz Sentinel).

If the recall passes, the vaccination bill will definitely gain state-wide attention and those who are against SB277 may gain momentum in the coming months.