CHARLESTON ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Kanawha County resident Mary Ellen OÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™Farrell, 76, joined three others Wednesday, making the case to the West Virginia Board of Education to keep current vaccine requirements.
An executive order from Gov. Patrick Morrisey would allow families to request personal or religious exemptions to state-mandated vaccines for school students.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œPlease, please do not relax the requirements for mandatory immunizations against childhood diseases for students enrolled in West Virginia public schools,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ she pleaded.
To demonstrate her point, she told a story about how ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” when she was a child growing up on CharlestonÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s East End in the 1950s ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” polio affected two families.
Ultimately, the Board chose have the stateÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s public school districts continue to follow existing West Virginia law.
Beating polio
OÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™Farrell recalled a girl, who she called Martha, contracted polio, and the familyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s mother struggled to take care of her while keeping her younger brother away. A neighbor, who had four children of her own, stepped up to assist.
While Martha beat polio, the neighbor died.
OÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™Farrell said Martha, who later became a close friend, lived a life full of lung complications from the disease while the helpful neighborÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s husband had to raise their children alone.
Dr. Allison Holstein, a pediatrician at CAMC who also has a child in public school, and Peggy Engelkemier-Oldaker, a registered nurse, also came before the board to say vaccinations are something the Mountain State does well.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThe truth is that vaccinating on time during childhood is the best way parents can protect their child because it provides immunity from 16 potentially life-threatening diseases,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Oldaker said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œYou know the facts, so why are we here today?ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe have had 13 states with [measles] outbreaks, including every state that is surrounding us,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Holstein said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThere is a reason we have not had an outbreak here. As we all know, this is about protecting children.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Background
Oldaker also reminded state board members that lawmakers did not pass a bill to loosen the reins on vaccine requirements in the 2025 legislative session.
This was the same point made by State Superintendent Michele Blatt on May 2, when she directed superintendents across the state to abide by the current required immunization program for school-age children.
However, less than two hours later, Blatt rescinded her memo at the governorÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s request. In her update, she noted that schools should follow MorriseyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Jan. 14 , which invokes 2023ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s , nicknamed the Equal Protection for Religion Act, to allow for religious and other objections to the stateÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s school vaccination mandates.
While currently requires schoolchildren to show proof of immunization ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” unless they provide a medical exemption from a doctor ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” for various vaccines, including diphtheria, pertussis, measles and polio, MorriseyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s executive order requires the commissioner for the Bureau of Public Health to establish a process for parents/guardians to request religious or philosophical exemptions to school-age vaccines.
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In his address to the Board, Sean Whelan ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” MorriseyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s general counsel ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” addressed a ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œmisunderstandingÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ about MorriseyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s executive order, noting that ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œthe governor is not second-guessing the science on vaccines or ignoring or defying the law passed through the Legislature.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Instead, Whelan said Morrisey is calling for vaccine exemptions to be in line with the Equal Protection of Religion Act of 2023, which mandates that any state action alleged to substantially burden the exercise of religion must be subject to strict scrutiny, meaning the government must prove that it has a compelling interest in the restriction and that itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s the least restrictive way to achieve that interest.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œHe is not directing or ordering the state Board of Education or the county boards of education to do anything,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Whelan said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s why the executive order only directs the actions of the health officials that are under his purview. But he is asking for your partnership and support in applying the equal protection for religion act that has been on the books since 2023 and ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” until he came into office ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” wasnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t applied.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Ultimately Wednesday, the nine voting members of the West Virginia Board of Education ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” without comment ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” unanimously declined this proposition when it voted to retain current immunization requirements for students in the stateÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s public school districts.
