Public to weigh in on revised California vaccine bill

Residents are getting their first chance to weigh in on changes to a California measure that would give state public health officials oversight of doctors who grant a high number of medical exemptions for vaccinations and schools with vaccination rates less than 95%.

The Assembly Health Committee's hearing is expected to draw hundreds of people against vaccines to the Capitol, as have prior hearings on the topic. Critics shouted "we will not comply" inside the Senate chambers last month as lawmakers voted on the measure.

They will likely be countered once again by dozens of white-coated medical professionals and students voicing support for the bill.

FILE -- In this April 24, 2019 file photo Terry Roark displays a photo of her son, Thomas, who she said was harmed by vaccines given to him when he was an infant in the early 1970's, as she and others express their opposition to a proposal to give state public health officials instead of local doctors the power to decide which children can skip their shots before attending school, at the Capitol, in Sacramento, Calif. A newer version of the bill, by state Sen. Richard Pan. D-Sacramento, which would require public health officials to scrutinize doctors who grant a high number of exemptions rather than review every exemption, will be will be taken up by the Assembly Health Committee, Thursday, June 20, 2019. (AP PhotoRich Pedroncelli, File)

The hearing comes just days after Sen. Richard Pan, the bill's author, announced major changes to the legislation designed to win support from Gov. Gavin Newsom. The Democratic governor had expressed concern with requiring state health officials to sign off on every exemption, as the bill had initially required.

Now, the public health department will only scrutinize doctors who grant more than five medical exemptions in a year and schools with vaccination rates of less than 95%, the threshold that officials say is needed to provide "community immunity" and prevent the spread of measles cases, which reached a 25-year high in the U.S. earlier this year. Newsom said he will sign the revised version if it reaches his desk.

The California bill is aimed at stopping some doctors from selling immunization exemptions, which supporters of the bill said has become a growing problem since the state ended non-medical exemptions in 2016.

FILE -- In this April 24, 2019 file photo Alyssa Hernandez listens as opponents to a proposal to give state public health officials instead of local doctors the power to decide which children can skip their shots before attending school, speak at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. Hernandez, whose son Noah, seen in photos in the background, received a liver transplant when he was six months old and cannot be vaccinated against many vaccine-preventable diseases, spoke in support of the measure. A newer version of the bill, by state Sen. Richard Pan. D-Sacramento, which would require public health officials to scrutinize doctors who grant a high number of exemptions rather than review every exemption, will be will be taken up by the Assembly Health Committee, Thursday, June 20, 2019. (AP PhotoRich Pedroncelli, File)

New immunization figures show the rate of kindergartners with permanent medical exemptions has quadrupled since the state banned personal exemptions, and more than 100 schools have medical exemption rates exceeding 10%.

Lawmakers in other states have also been considering changes to confront the nation's highest number of measles cases in decades. Maine eliminated religious and philosophical exemptions, while New York legislators ended a religious exemption. Washington state ended most exemptions for the measles vaccine, though legislators in Oregon defeated a bill that would have made it harder for families to opt out.

Among provisions in the amended California bill:

FILE -- In this May 22, 2019, file photo, an opponent of a measure to toughen the rules for vaccination exemptions gives a thumbs down as the bill's author, state Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, makes his closing statements in Sacramento, Calif. A newer version of the bill, by state Sen. Richard Pan. D-Sacramento, which would require public health officials to scrutinize doctors who grant a high number of exemptions rather than review every exemption, will be will be taken up by the Assembly Health Committee, Thursday, June 20, 2019. (AP PhotoRich Pedroncelli, File)

— Doctors would be barred from charging for filling out a medical exemption form or conducting a related medical examination. They would have to sign the forms under penalty of perjury.

— California Department of Public Health doctors or registered nurses would review exemptions issued by local medical providers who issue five or more a year, or at schools with high exemption rates.

— The state public health officer, who is a doctor, could revoke any that don't meet national guidelines.

— Parents could appeal to an independent panel of doctors.

— In addition to immunization guidelines issued by federal medical authorities, officials could consider families' medical histories in allowing exemptions.

Supporters said the bill would permit exemptions for the less than 1% of students who should avoid vaccinations because they have a severe allergic reaction or impaired immunity from a liver problem, HIV virus, chemotherapy or other conditions.

NEW DELHI (AP) — The hugely popular Chinese app TikTok may be forced out of the U.S., where a measure to outlaw the video-sharing app has won congressional approval and is on its way to President Biden for his signature.

In India, the app was banned nearly four years ago. Here's what happened:

In June 2020, TikTok users in India bid goodbye to the app, which is operated by Chinese internet firm ByteDance. New Delhi had suddenly banned the popular app, alongside dozens other Chinese apps, following a military clash along the India-China border. Twenty Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed, and ties between the two Asian giants plunged to a new low.

The government cited privacy concerns and said that Chinese apps pose a threat to India’s sovereignty and security.

The move mostly drew widespread support in India, where protesters had been calling for a boycott of Chinese goods since the deadly confrontation in the remote Karakoram mountain border region.

“There was a clamour leading up to this, and the popular narrative was how can we allow Chinese companies to do business in India when we’re in the middle of a military standoff,” said Nikhil Pahwa, a digital policy expert and founder of tech website MediaNama.

Just months before the ban, India had also restricted investment from Chinese companies, Pahwa added. “TikTok wasn’t a one-off case. Today, India has banned over 500 Chinese apps to date.”

At the time, India had about 200 million TikTok users, the most outside of China. And the company also employed thousands of Indians.

TikTok users and content creators, however, needed a place to go — and the ban provided a multi-billion dollar opportunity to snatch up a big market. Within months, Google rolled out YouTube Shorts and Instagram pushed out its Reels feature. Both mimicked the short-form video creation that TikTok had excelled at.

“And they ended up capturing most of the market that TikTok had vacated,” said Pahwa.

In India, TikTok content was hyperlocal, which made it quite unique. It opened a window into the lives of small-town India, with videos coming from tier 2 and 3 cities that showed people doing tricks while laying down bricks, for example.

But for the most part, content creators and users in the four years since the ban have moved on to other platforms.

Winnie Sangma misses posting videos on TikTok and earning a bit of money. But after the ban, he migrated to Instagram and now has 15,000 followers. The process, for the most part, has been relatively painless.

“I have built up followers on Instagram too, and I am making money from it, but the experience isn’t like how it used to be on TikTok,” he said.

Rajib Dutta, a frequent scroller on TikTok, also switched to Instagram after the ban. “It wasn’t really a big deal,” he said.

The legislation to outlaw the app has won congressional approval and now awaits a signature from Biden.

The measure gives ByteDance, the app’s parent company, nine months to sell it, and three more if a sale is underway. If this doesn’t happen, TikTok will be banned. It would take at least a year before a ban goes into effect, but with likely court challenges, it could stretch longer.

In India, the ban in 2020 was swift. TikTok and other companies were given time to respond to questions on privacy and security, and by January 2021, it became a permanent ban.

But the situation in the U.S. is different, said Pahwa. “In India, TikTok decided not to go to court, but the U.S. is a bigger revenue market for them. Also, the First Amendment in America is fairly strong, so it’s not going to be as easy for the U.S. to do this as it was for India,” he said, in reference to free speech rights in the U.S. Constitution.

As Chinese apps proliferate across the world, Pahwa says countries need to assess their dependency on China and develop a way to reduce it as the apps can pose a national security risk.

The app is also banned in Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan and restricted in many countries in Europe.

“Chinese intelligence law and its cybersecurity law can allow Chinese apps to work in the interest of their own security. That creates a situation of distrust and it becomes a national security risk for others,” said Pahwa.

“There should be different rules for democratic countries and for authoritarian regimes where companies can act as an extension of the state,” he added.

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This story corrects the expert's erroneous reference to Fourth instead of First Amendment.

FILE- Activists of Jammu and Kashmir Dogra Front shout slogans against Chinese President Xi Jinping next to a banner showing the logos of TikTok and other Chinese apps banned in India during a protest in Jammu, India, July 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Channi Anand, File)