Morrisey moves forward with school vaccine exemptions in West Virginia

Gov. Patrick Morrisey is pushing ahead with his desire to grant religious exemptions to the state’s current vaccine mandates, even though legislation codifying the policy failed to pass the West Virginia Legislature earlier this year.

Morrisey signed an executive order mandating the creation of a vaccine exemption program on his second day in office, and recently issued a statement saying the order “remains in place and it will not be rescinded.”

The governor’s statement reinforcing the executive order followed a memo that was issued — and then rescinded — by West Virginia’s superintendent of schools.

In the memo, sent to county superintendents, state Superintendent of Schools Michelle Blatt said “there is no religious exemption provided for in West Virginia law” for the current school vaccine mandate.

Blatt later rescinded the memo, saying she had done so at Morrisey’s request.

“We are working collaboratively with the Governor’s Office to issue clear guidance to counties on how to comply with Executive Order 7-25,” Blatt said.

In his statement, Morrisey called on Blatt and county boards of education to work with the Bureau for Public Health to carry out his order.

“Students will not be denied access to public education because of their religious objections to compulsory vaccination,” he said.

Morrisey’s order directs the commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health and the state health officer to “establish a process” for objections from parents and guardians who want to send their students to state schools but who “object on religious or conscientious grounds.”

Current state code prevents students from attending “the schools of the state or a state-regulated child care center” unless they have been immunized against chickenpox, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough.

When he initially announced it, Morrisey said the executive order builds on a law passed by the West Virginia Legislature in 2023.

“We’re going to be implementing the Equal Protection for Religion Act (of 2023),” he said. “We’re ensuring that current policy — which does not recognize a religious, conscientious exemption for vaccines — is being changed.”

The act “strongly argues in favor” of these exemptions, Morrisey said.

“West Virginia right now is an outlier,” he said. “There are only several states that don’t recognize religious exemption. Today that changes.”

Washington, D.C., and 30 states allow exemptions for people who have religious objections to immunizations.

Thirteen states allow exemptions for either religious or personal reasons, according to information from the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The states that do not allow any type of nonmedical exemption include West Virginia, California, New York, Connecticut and Maine.

During a recent meeting of the West Virginia Board of Education, board President Nancy White made a statement in support of Blatt and said the board would discuss school vaccinations at its next monthly meeting.

“The board supports the state superintendent’s attempt to follow compulsory vaccination law and directs her to continue to work with the governor and with our legislative liaison to find resolution to this issue, and we’ll reconsider this vaccination issue at our next meeting in June,” she said.

Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, the state Democratic Party leader, said he believes the executive order is not legally sound and asked the board to “stand with the law.”

“Stand with the law (and) the law will stand with you,” he said. “If the governor can simply unilaterally make laws from his office, what’s the point of having a Legislature? What is the point of having a Board of Education? Be strong.”