State senator considering bill to remove personal exemptions for Covid-19 vaccine

California’s new mandate for all eligible students to be vaccinated against Covid-19 once the FDA gives full approval has a big loophole — it allows students to be exempted based on “personal belief.”

Sen. Richard Pan of Sacramento, a Democrat and pediatrician who chairs the Senate Health Committee, is considering legislation to remove that exemption, according to CalMatters.

Pan has championed legislation in the past that removed personal belief exemptions from all other required vaccines for school.

“The problem with the personal belief exemption is that if there are too many people who use it, we’ll have schools that are unsafe,” Pan said. “We need to be sure kids can stay in school and learn and not have to be sent home for two weeks.”