Nobody likes wearing seatbelts, what’s the chance that you’ll be in a car accident the next time you get in a car? It’s not very likely. So then why do we wear them? Because in case we do ever get in a car accident, they’ll keep us safe. Similarly, with vaccinations although they are not desirable, they will keep us safe from potential diseases in the future.

There has been a recent debate on vaccinations and whether they should be required for every student or if there should be some exemptions. SB 277 is a new bill currently being proposed in Congress. If passed, this would be a law that states that all California students must receive 10 required vaccinations before entering school.

In the past, most students got their vaccinations before entering school but there were always exceptions. Some parents wouldn’t let their kids get the vaccines due to religious or personal beliefs and the schools would allow it. This law disregards that and says that all students must get the vaccines with no exceptions. Failure to get the vaccinations would result in not being admitted into the schools, and therefore the child would have to be home schooled.

This bill was just proposed due to a recent Measles outbreak in Disneyland. This outbreak that started in December spread out to several states in the United States and left 147 people sick. 57 of those who were not vaccinated. This recent event caused a lot of people to question our health system and spurred a debate about vaccinations.

This is how the idea of SB 277 was born. This bill will now require children to be  vaccinated for Diphtheria, Hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenza type b, Measles, Mumps, Whooping cough, Poliomyelitis, Rubella, Tetanus, and Chickenpox.

Personally, I agree with this bill and I am in full support of it. This bill would keep the children safe and provide a healthier environment for everyone. Having people at school without appropriate vaccines puts everyone at risk of getting sick. It’s not fair for other parents who want to keep their kids disease free but can’t because of someone else’s personal belief. This law is just looking out for the health of everyone.

I understand that people have their reasons for not getting vaccinated. Parents against this insists that it’s their kid so they should have the choice. In most cases I would agree, but should there really be a choice when it involves everyone’s safety? As we have already seen, not having all your proper vaccines can cause a huge outbreak. This was not the first time that an outbreak like this has happened, there have been many other ones throughout the United States. That is why we should learn from our mistakes and move forward with this bill.