On behalf of the County of Tulare Board of Supervisors, this letter is intended to document our unequivocal opposition to Senate Bill 866 (Wiener and Pan).
SB 866 denies the ability of a parent or guardian to act in the best interests of their child. It also lays the burden of decision-making about vaccines into the hands of vaccine providers and children not deemed suited to other adult decision-making activities.
SB 277 (Pan) has already been put in place and children must be immunized against 10 serious communicable diseases to be able to attend public or private schools and childcare centers. Tulare County typically leads the state in kindergarten vaccines, with 98.1 % of all kindergartners having their required
vaccinations. In 2019, only 0.2% had a permanent medical exemption and other exemptions were only 0.4%.
The rights of parents and guardians who are making the best decisions possible for their children must matter to the state: we must be respected. Please stop this effort to put burdensome adult medical decisions into the hands of children.
Sincerely,
Eddie Valero, Chairman
District Four
Dennis Townsend, Vice Chairman
District Five
Larry Micari, Supervisor
District One
Pete Vander Poel, Supervisor
District Two
Amy Shuklian, Supervisor
District Three
cc: Senator Wiener, Senator Pan, Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer & Lange