Deborah K. Stiles

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)? 

Maintain current requirements

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

We need to ensure that health departments have sufficient public health resources to hold vaccination clinics, have sufficient staffing to do public education on vaccines, and to do school clinics as well.

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.

I would help to share the messaging provided by public health officials, such as urging members of the public to get vaccinated if they are not, and in other ways attempt to coordinate responses to disease outbreaks with these officials.

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

When I was a toddler, an outbreak of both measles and mumps occurred before my mother had the opportunity to get me vaccinated (thereafter, all of my younger siblings, and myself, went to the vaccination clinics with my mother and got all vaccinations on time). As a result of contracting both measles and mumps before I was vaccinated, I am nearly deaf in my left ear. This resulted in a speech impediment, which was finally diagnosed and treated with speech therapy in high school. I am determined to not let our vaccine law be weakened. The costs are too high for our children.