Newly elected West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey, within a day of inauguration, issued an executive order1 to establish a process for religious and conscientious objections to state school or state regulated day care center vaccination requirements.
This is great news for families in West Virginia who, up to this point, have only had limited medical exemptions available.2 Since 2011, NVIC has analyzed and tracked on the NVIC Advocacy Portal over 40 bills attempting to expand vaccine exemptions, including HB5105.3 which was vetoed by the previous governor Jim Justice on March 27, 2024.
Several introductory statements in the Jan. 14th order explain the governor’s reasoning for his actions including the fact that even after the enactment of the Equal Protection for Religion Act of 2023, W. Va. Code §35-1A-1 (2023), “the compulsory immunization law is still being used to bar West Virginians with religious and moral objections to vaccines from sending their children to state schools.”
The order declares that “a writing signed by the objector” is sufficient proof to establish the objection. It also states that no action shall be taken to enforce compulsory vaccine requirements against a conscientious or religious objector to vaccine requirements by the Commissioner of Health, the State Health Officer, and all officials and employees of the state under their authority.
The order also establishes that by Feb. 1, 2025, the plan to “enable and facilitate a statewide exemption for religious or moral beliefs,” including any necessary legislation or rules, shall be submitted by the Bureau for Public Health and the State Health Officer to the Governor.
The remaining states to only have a medical exemption are California, Connecticut, Maine, and New York.
This is a great development for families in West Virginia!
Dawn Richardson is the Director of Advocacy for the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC).
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Click here to view References:1 State of West Virginia Executive Order No. 7-25 by Gov. Patrick Morrisey. Jan. 14 2025.
2 National Vaccine Information Center. West Virginia State Vaccine Requirements.
3 NVIC Advocacy Portal. West Virginia HB5105.
4 Responses
Wonderful news!! We live in WV and homeschool. I am hopeful this will also enable my children to participate in public high school sports programs in the future. I do hope they intend to pass laws to enshrine this protection of medical freedom into our constitution.
Please allow me to clarify; A government person restored the rights of some people, whom had previously had their constitutional rights violated by the same government.
Don’t worry, nobody will go to jail or be held accountable for previous violations of citizens rights where they were coerced and penalized for making independent medical decisions and refusing those vaccines.
Meanwhile through the rest of the country; Citizens in other states continue to have their constitutional rights violated. Don’t worry, government and private company persons whom continue to engage in this activity of coercing people to accept vaccination under threat and penalty of the force of government, will not face any accountability for their previous, current, and projected into the future, continued oppression of citizens whom make their own independent decisions about their own body and sovereignty.
Safe AND Effective.
I pray that a miracle will happen in California as you cannot go to a private school or public school without all the vaccinations and my granddaughter, age 4, that has two parents with cancer, will have to be vaccinated eventually to attend school. She has never been sick and never had an ear infection and no vaccines. Her parents have no alternative and I am not well enough to homeschool her at my age, in my 70’s. We cannot even get medical exemptions here as no doctor will do them and forget religious exemptions they got rid of all of that. Please pray for the children of California and all the shots they have to get. Pray for a miracle for my granddaughter that the law will change even though this seems impossible. Our governor and democratic control state would never allow religious freedom. They will persecute doctor’s if they give a medical exemption.
Well, my son just graduated last year and was home schooled. I’m very happy for the rest of you, though. Maybe this will make it easier for him to go to college if he wants too. Yay!