Calimornia vaccinations still lacsinn

LOS ANGELES — Even with a new law that has boosted kindergarten vaccination rates to record highs, hundreds of schools across California still have so many children lacking full immunization that they pose an increased risk of disease outbreaks, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis of state data.

At nearly 750 schools, 90 percent or fewer kindergartners had been fully vaccinated last year, the analysis found. Experts say the rate should be at least 95 percent to prevent the spread of highly contagious diseases such as measles.

California’s tougher inoculation law was approved in 2015 after a measles outbreak that originated at Disneyland. The law bars parents from citing religious or personal beliefs to excuse their children from immunizations, but some who already had such exemptions were allowed to keep them.

The rest of the unvaccinated children need a form signed by their doctor saying they had a medical reason not to get their shots.

In the school year that began last fall, the law’s first year, the number of kindergartners in California with medical exemptions tripled, the analysis found.

Doctors say that at most, 3 percent of people could have a medical reason for not tolerating vaccines, such as a gelatin allergy.

But the Times analysis found that at 58 schools, 10 percent or more kindergartners had medical exemptions last fall.

“That’s just totally wrong,” said Dr. James Cherry, a University of California at Los Angeles research professor.

As a new school year begins, the high numbers of unvaccinated kids last year have raised questions about whether even one of the strictest laws in the nation can persuade parents who are skeptical of vaccines to immunize their children.