LOS ANGELES -- Fewer California parents opted out of vaccinations for their children entering kindergarten last year after the adoption of a law that makes it harder to go without the shots, state figures show.
The issue has taken new prominence as California deals with an outbreak of measles that originated at Disneyland last month, sickening at least 78 people.
Most of the infections are in California, and most of those who got sick were unvaccinated. Measles also has been confirmed in six other states -- Utah, Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Nebraska and Arizona -- and Mexico.
California is among 20 states that allow parents to forgo vaccines for their children because of personal beliefs.
The rate of personal-belief exemptions for kindergartners fell from 3.1 percent in 2013 to 2.5 percent last year, according to data collected by the California Department of Public Health.
It's the first drop after years of record numbers of parents seeking waivers to avoid school-immunization requirements.
"The early signs look good. However, it is too early to make a definitive determination. We will have to make sure that this trend is stable," Saad Omer, an associate professor of global health at Emory University in Atlanta, said in an email.
Under the immunization law that took effect last year, parents claiming a personal-belief exemption from vaccines must have a signed form from their doctor saying that they have received information about the risks of opting out.
Gov. Jerry Brown added a last-minute religious exemption that does not require a doctor's signature. Previously, parents were not required to supply any information to explain their decision.
The drop in vaccine exemptions also was seen in school districts that traditionally have high numbers of unvaccinated kindergartners.
In the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, the rate declined from 14.8 percent to 11.5 percent. In Capistrano Unified in south Orange County, the rate fell from 9.5 percent to 8.6 percent, according to an analysis published Friday by the Los Angeles Times.
Public health officials have worried about the re-emergence of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and whooping cough due to unimmunized populations.
In the latest measles outbreak, most of those who got sick had not gotten the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. While measles has been eliminated in the U.S. since 2000, the virus still can enter the country from abroad, where it's still a problem.
The California Department of Public Health said Friday that there were 68 confirmed cases in the state -- 48 that have been directly linked to being at Disneyland or Disney California Adventure last month. Some people also visited one or both of the parks while infectious in January.
The measles outbreak also has spread beyond those who visited Disneyland in December and January and is infecting people in the broader community.
The California patients range in ages from 7 months to 70 years. The vaccination status is known for at least 34 of the patients. Of those, 28 were unvaccinated, one had received partial vaccination, and five were fully vaccinated.
Of the cases in California, about one in four people have had to be hospitalized, officials said.
Officials said five Disneyland employees have been diagnosed with measles. All employees who could have been in contact with those five have been asked to provide vaccination records or do a blood test that shows they have immunity to the disease.
Any employees who had not been vaccinated or could not confirm their immunity status were asked to go on paid leave until their status could be confirmed, company officials said.
Information for this article was contributed by Alicia Chang of The Associated Press and by Rong-Gong Lin II and Rosanna Xia of the Los Angeles Times.
A Section on 01/24/2015