The Senate Health Committee advanced a bill that loosens some of West Virginia’s school vaccination requirements, with the chairman saying he wouldn’t have run it if he’d had a choice about it.
House Bill 5105 removes vaccination requirements for students in virtual public schools, and it also would allow private and parochial schools to set their own standards.
But senators have pulled out a provision that would have allowed parents to send in a letter citing a religious exemption to vaccination requirements.
Senate Health Committee Chairman Mike Maroney, R-Marshall, spoke against the bill as the meeting concluded.
“This bill would not be on the agenda if it were my choice and only my choice,” said Maroney, a radiologist who cited his oath to first do no harm. “If I did not say that I would not be able to sleep at night.”
As the Senate committee discussed the bill, medical professionals in white jackets filled the room, showing support for widespread vaccination to suppress the spread of communicable disease.
Dr. Lisa Costello, a pediatrician at WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital, testified about her medical knowledge and also from her perspective as mother of a 2-year-old who will start at a Catholic pre-school soon.
Costello said 17 states, including surrounding states, have experienced recent measles outbreaks while West Virginia is served by one of the strongest school vaccination laws in the country.
“We have seen over time that immunizations work,” she said. “They are effective. They save lives.”
Dr. Steven Eschenaur, public health officer for the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, agreed that school vaccinations that are required in West Virginia have a history of being safe and effective.
“This bill would open the door and allow these diseases back into our community,” he said.
“The world is a marketplace for disease outside of this country. I’ve seen a lot of these countries and trust me, we don’t want that in West Virginia. We don’t want to revert to becoming a Third World state.”
Dr. Alvin Moss, a medical professor at the WVU School of Medicine testified that he has developed concerns about vaccines and injuries. Moss is a nephrologist, which focuses on kidneys. Moss added, “A mandatory policy goes against the idea of informed consent.”
Chanda Adkins, a licensed pharmacist and former state delegate, spoke from the perspective of a parent concerned about vaccination requirements. “I want to educate my children in light of God’s word,” she said.
“If people are living out their conviction, they’re not going to vaccinate. No government policy will make them do that.”
Following the meeting, Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, said he agreed with removing the provision that would have allowed parents of students in public school to send a letter to get out of vaccination requirements.
“They call it ‘religious exemption.’ The reality is, those are ‘philosophical exemptions,’” Takubo said. The bill’s original construction, he said, would have meant “claim you’ve got religion, write it on a napkin, have your kid turn it in at school and then go on to school.
That’s a philosophical exemption.”
Takubo, a pulmonologist, said he’s a strong advocate for the effects of vaccines keeping society safe.
“When kids get measles, it makes them really sick. One in five end up being hospitalized. One in 20 end up getting horrible pneumonia and oftentimes can end up on ventilators. I think what’s happened is a lot of people haven’t seen this in their lifetime and so it’s easy to forget how severe and how infectious these diseases are until it’s too late.
“My fear is, we’re going to continue to loosen these laws and once it happens it’s going to be a shock moment to think what did we do.”
Takubo said he voted against the bill and will vote against it on the Senate floor.
But he quietly predicted, “I think it’s going to pass.”
