The new California vaccine exemption law only has an obvious immediate effect on physicians contemplating writing new exemptions. Families with vaccine medical exemptions have some time to figure things out, especially families with all their kids currently in school.

There will be legal challenges which will take months to resolve, if not longer. Analysis, planning and strategic thinking are what’s needed. Not emotion or panic.

Because of what I think are some technical defects in the law, there are not definitive answers to some of your questions, and some facets of the new law are going to depend on how the schools and public health department interpret defects and poor drafting of a law which was substantially changed at the very last minute.

If your kids are in school now, you don’t need an answer right this minute to every question about what’s going to happen to your medical exemption next year or the year. As indicated, some of those answer will only be known once the authorities start interpreting and applying the law.

So take a breath, exchange ideas with community members and see what ideas/workarounds are out there, and don’t panic!

Rick Jaffe, Esq.