A 7-year-old California first grader with leukemia pleaded with school board members in Tiburon this week to get all children vaccinated against the measles.
In the wake of Rhett Krawitt’s appeals, the Reed Union School Board in Marin County voted to support state legislation that would scrap the personal belief exemption now granted to parents who want to opt out of vaccinations for their children,
CBS station KPIX reported.
"My name is Rhett, and I give a damn!" he said during his comments, standing on a chair to reach the podium microphone.
"Soon, we will say gone with the measles," added Krawitt, whose fragile body prevents him from getting the measles vaccine.
Marin County has one of the state's highest rates of kids that haven't been vaccinated for measles.
The Krawitts joined their son Tuesday to encourage the school board to approve the exemption ban, which currently allows parents to enroll their children at schools without the required vaccinations.
With one dissenting vote, the school district's Board of Trustees supported the state scrapping the personal belief exemption.
© 2026 NewsmaxHealth. All rights reserved.