Immunization Newsbriefs (c) Copyright Information Inc., Bethesda, MD. Brought to you by the National Network for Immunization Information (NNii). Visit NNii's new website at http://www.immunizationinfo.org.
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July 15, 2002
U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"Latino Kids Focus of Hepatitis Debate"
Sacramento Bee (www.sacbee.com) (07/14/02) P. A1; Rojas, Aurelio
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is trying to get the hepatitis A vaccine made mandatory for children entering California schools, and the drug company is now concentrating on Hispanic children and legislators, to the point where a measure is pending in the state Legislature to make children in seven counties with large Hispanic populations get the vaccine before entering kindergarten. The company has made large campaign contributions, and much of the money has gone to Hispanic legislators, who have introduced a mandatory vaccine bill three times over the past three years. The current bill is sponsored by the Latino Issues Forum, which received money from GSK this year. State Assemblyman Dario Frommer (D-Glendale) says that the vaccine should be mandatory because Hispanics have less access to health care than other ethnic groups, but medical and public health officials cannot agree on whether the vaccine should be mandatory; the California Conference of Local Health Officers says that it is not needed because the rate of the disease has been dropping ever since the vaccine was introduced on a voluntary basis, but the California Medical Association supports the measure. Questions have been raised about the suitability of the legislature as a forum in which to make scientific decisions.
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