Odd protests as California passes pro-vaccine bill

Anti-vaccine activists in California heatedly protested new limits on medical exemptions to vaccine requirements days after the bill was finalized amid a nationwide crisis of confidence in vaccinations.

First, protesters blocked the entrance to the state Capitol last week and repeatedly shut down the Legislature with their demonstrations as Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed the bill, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Then, a candlelight vigil for children allegedly harmed or killed by vaccines included a photo of Ethan Lindenberger, who chose to be vaccinated against his parents’ wishes and has testified before Congress. Jonathan Lockwood, executive director of the anti-vaccine group Conscience Coalition, which organized the vigil, did not immediately respond to a question about why the photo was used.

The state legislative session closed Friday with a dramatic display from the gallery: A woman threw “a feminine hygiene device containing what appeared to be blood” at the senators from a balcony, the California Highway Patrol said.

“That’s for the dead babies!” she shouted as people gasped.

The tension comes as a wave of hesitancy about vaccines washes over some parents. Although vaccines prevent 2 million to 3 million deaths each year, the World Health Organization says many parents hesitate to vaccinate their children out of complacency, the inconvenience of accessing vaccines and a lack of confidence in vaccines’ effectiveness.

California’s bill, SB 276, creates a standardized medical exemption request form to be approved by the state’s public health officer. It also authorizes the health department to review requests for medical exemptions at schools where less than 95 percent of students are vaccinated, at schools that do not report their vaccination rates and from doctors who have written five or more waivers in a given year.

The woman who threw what the Sacramento Bee reported was a menstrual cup Friday walked out of the chamber and into the hallway, where police said she was arrested on charges including assault and vandalism. “I’m doing this for the babies that died, so their voices can be heard,” the woman, identified as 43-year-old Rebecca Dalelio, said as she was being arrested. “Their blood is on your hands, you who make the laws.”