Colby A. Lopez

On a scale of “Strongly Agree” (5) to “Strongly Disagree,” (1) rank your position on the following statements: 

Vaccines are safe: 5
Vaccines are effective at preventing disease: 5
Keeping children safe is a shared responsibility: 5

What is your position on West Virginia’s current school vaccine requirements (which allow only medical exemptions)? 

Add religious exemptions

In your view, what role should the state play in ensuring access to vaccines—especially in rural or underserved communities? 

The state should leverage systems established during the pandemic to coordinate vaccine acquisition, and distribution throughout the state. Officials should encourage vaccination, and scientific health advices.

Which of the following best reflects your understanding? 

Vaccines primarily protect the individual receiving them
Vaccines help protect both individuals and the broader community
Vaccination is largely a personal decision with limited community impact
Vaccination is a personal decision regardless of community impact 

If a preventable disease outbreak (such as measles) occurred in your district, what actions—if any—would you take as a policymaker (e.g., make a statement regarding safety, coordinate with public health officials, take policy actions, encourage vaccination, etc.

Make statements, contact medical facilities to coordinate and ask what is needed, and support emergency medical funding surge in the district.

Is there anything else you would like West Virginia voters to know about your approach to public health, community wellbeing, and/or vaccines?

My Mom is a nurse, my aunt is a nurse, my aunt's mother-in-law is a nurse, my girlfriend's mom is a nurse, my grandma was a dietitian, and many more medical field professionals in my family and friends. Trust nurses and medical professionals.