Some of the key findings in a statewide survey published on June 3 showed that a majority of those surveyed agreed with Senate Bill 277 (Pan), a bill sponsored by the California Medical Association that would eliminate personal belief exemptions and require parents to vaccinate their children before enrolling them in school.

According to a survey released yesterday by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), two-thirds of Californians (67 percent) and public school parents (65 percent) say children should not be allowed to attend unless they are vaccinated. Majorities of adults across all regions and demographic groups say children should be required to be vaccinated.

Overwhelming majorities also say that, in general, vaccines given to children are very safe (57 percent adults, 54 percent public school parents) or somewhat safe (30 percent adults, 34 percent public school parents). This view holds across all racial/ethnic groups, though Latinos (49 percent) are much less likely than whites (65 percent) to view vaccines as very safe.

The PPIC survey asked about three dozen questions on a range of issues from water to jobs to the California state budget. The telephone survey of 1,706 California adults was conducted during the week of May 17-27. It was funded by the James Irvine Foundation.

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