CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s GOP-controlled state Legislature voted Saturday to permit some college students who do not attend conventional public faculties to be exempt from state vaccination necessities which have lengthy been held up as among the many most strict within the nation.
The invoice was authorized regardless of the objections of Republican Senate Well being and Human Sources Chair Mike Maroney, a educated physician, who known as the invoice “a humiliation” and stated he believed lawmakers had been harming the state.
“I took an oath to do no hurt. There’s zero likelihood I can vote for this invoice,” Maroney stated earlier than the invoice handed the Senate 18-12. The Home already authorized a model of the invoice in February and swiftly authorized the Senate invoice on Saturday, the final day of the state’s 60-day legislative session.
“It’s a nasty invoice for West Virginia, it’s a step backward. There’s no query, no query there can be unfavourable results,” Maroney stated. He added, “It’s a humiliation for me to be part of it, it must be a humiliation to all people.”
West Virginia, with a number of the lowest life expectancy charges within the U.S. and 1 / 4 of all youngsters residing in poverty, is one in every of solely two states, together with California, that do not allow nonmedical exemptions to vaccinations as a situation for college entry.
Mississippi had the identical coverage till July, when a choose allowed folks to start out citing non secular beliefs to hunt exemptions from state-mandated vaccinations that youngsters should obtain earlier than attending day care or faculty.
The brand new proposed vaccine legislation in West Virginia, which now heads to the desk of Republican Gov. Jim Justice, permits digital public faculty college students to be exempt and for personal and parochial faculties to institute their very own insurance policies both exempting college students or not.
All college students collaborating in West Virginia faculty actions that lead to competitors, together with however not restricted to sports activities, nonetheless must be vaccinated.
The invoice stipulates dad and mom can’t sue personal faculties and faculty house owners, directors, boards and staffers for deciding whether or not to permit exemptions or not, so long as the college gives households with a discover for fogeys to signal acknowledging the coverage yearly and upon enrollment.
“I personally don’t urge passage, however your well being committee urged passage of this invoice,” Maroney stated earlier than introducing the invoice within the Senate.
The invoice’s unique intent, as launched within the state Home of Delegates, was to get rid of vaccine necessities for college students in public digital faculties. It was expanded in a Home committee to permit personal faculties to set their very own vaccination requirements, except a pupil participates in sanctioned athletics.
The invoice additionally created a non secular exemption for any youngster whose dad and mom or guardians current a letter stating the kid can’t be vaccinated for non secular causes. That was taken out within the Senate.
Throughout the Senate Well being Committee assembly earlier this week, West Virginia College Faculty of Drugs Professor Dr. Alvin Moss argued for the invoice, saying the state’s present obligatory vaccination coverage is medically unethical as a result of it doesn’t enable knowledgeable consent.
The variety of dad and mom who don’t desire their youngsters to obtain vaccinations is rising, Moss stated.
In 2017, the anti-vaccine requirement group West Virginians for Well being Freedom had 300 households included in his members. That quantity has grown to not less than 3,000 members in 2024, Moss stated.
Former West Virginia Republican Delegate Chanda Adkins, a bunch member, stated in the course of the assembly that non secular households who do not need to vaccinate their youngsters deserve to have the ability to dwell their convictions.
Former West Virginia Medical Affiliation Dr. Lisa Costello disagreed, saying West Virginia’s present vaccine coverage is the “gold commonplace” throughout the nation.
“West Virginia is seen as a nationwide chief in terms of our routine, youngster immunizations,” she stated, later including, “Measles doesn’t care in case you go to personal faculty or public faculty. Measles doesn’t differentiate relying on the place you go to highschool.”
West Virginia legislation requires youngsters to obtain vaccines for chickenpox, hepatitis-b, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough, except they obtain a medical exemption. West Virginia doesn’t require COVID-19 vaccinations.
