California governor, lawmaker alter proposed vaccine rules

California public health officials would have more oversight of doctors and schools with high numbers of medical exemptions for vaccinations under a legislative compromise.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and the bill's author disclosed the deal aimed at cracking down on fraudulent exemptions issued by sympathetic doctors.

The updated measure by Sen. Richard Pan removes a provision that would have required health officials to consider every exemption requested and expands the criteria for granting exemptions.

The California bill is aimed at preventing "doctor-shopping." Proponents, including medical and pediatric associations, said some doctors have been selling immunization exemptions since California ended non-medical exemptions in 2016.

Under the amended bill, health officials would take a targeted approach, concentrating on doctors who write five or more exemptions each year and schools with a vaccination rate below 95 percent.