Measles Outbreak Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Justice Vetoes Bill To Ease Vaccine Requirements For Some Schools

On the final day of bill signing from the 2024 regular legislative session, Justice vetoed controversial House Bill 5105.

Gov. Jim Justice has vetoed a bill to ease vaccine requirements for many of the state’s school-age children.

On the final day of bill signing from the 2024 regular legislative session, Justice vetoed House Bill 5105.

The controversial bill would have changed West Virginia’s vaccination requirements by allowing virtual public school students to be exempt from vaccination policies and for private and parochial schools to institute their own policies either exempting students or not.

In a statement, Justice said he was persuaded by the state’s leading medical experts, who advised him to veto the bill.

“Since this legislation was passed, I have heard constant, strong opposition to this legislation from our state’s medical community,” Justice said. “The overwhelming majority that have voiced their opinion believe that this legislation will do irreparable harm by crippling childhood immunity to diseases such as mumps and measles.”

Justice added that spikes in measles in surrounding states with less stringent vaccine requirements guided his decision.

“West Virginia historically has seen very few instances of these diseases, specifically because the vaccination requirements in this state are so strong,” he said. “Importantly, the vaccines at issue have been required in this state for decades and have kept our communities safe.”

As the regular session wound down earlier this month, the House approved HB 5105 on a vote of 70 to 29 and in the Senate by 20 to 12.

As the law stands, all students in West Virginia have to receive vaccines for diseases like polio and measles, unless they are homeschooled or medically exempt.

Justice said parents from private and parochial schools voiced their opposition to the bill.

“We have heard from this community that they see this bill as purely divisive and, if signed into law, requiring consideration of adopting policies that will result in parents pulling their children from their schools,” he said.

Justice said while he understood those who saw the issue as one of freedom to make other health decisions, he could not ignore the “wisdom” of the medical community.

“I will defer to our licensed medical professionals who have come forward overwhelmingly to say this bill could and likely would result in reduced immunity and harm to West Virginia’s kids. Our kids are our future. They are our most important resource, and I will protect them with everything I have.”

With 99 To Go, Justice Signals Hesitation Over Signing Certain Bills

The governor has signed 73 bills into law, and vetoed one. There are slightly fewer than a hundred bills waiting for action – including some controversial bills.

Most of what Gov. Jim Justice has signed since the legislative session ended are appropriations bills that allot funding to specific state agencies.

Contentious bills, like ones that would reduce unemployment benefits, change the legislative auditor’s office, and loosen vaccine requirements for school-age children are still hanging in legislative limbo.

Justice expressed concern about the vaccine bill that would exempt students from receiving vaccinations who attend private schools or attend public school virtually.

“We’re bombarded with calls, bombarded with calls,” Justice said. “You know, from ‘docs’ and all kinds of different people who say ‘what are we doing, what in the world are we doing?’”

He said he wants to expand freedom but is unclear on the ramifications of the bill, if it is signed into law.

“I had a gentleman just in my office not long ago,” Justice said. “You know, talking about when he was growing up, one of the family members had Polio.”

With ten days left to sign the bill, Justice said it’s premature to say what he will do.

According to West Virginia Legislature website, while the Legislature is in session, the governor has five days to approve or veto a bill. After the Legislature adjourns, the governor has 15 days to act on most bills. However, the budget bill and supplemental appropriations bills must be acted upon by the governor within five days regardless of when they are received. If the governor does not act within these time limits, bills automatically become law without his or her signature.

If the Legislature is still in session when the governor vetoes a bill, a simple majority vote of the members of both legislative bodies is necessary to override the veto.

In cases when a budget bill or supplemental appropriation bill is vetoed, it requires a two-thirds vote of the members of both chambers to override the veto.

Immunization Summit Brings Awareness of Measles Outbreak to W.Va.

The hot topic at this year’s Immunization Summit in Charleston was measles. An outbreak of the disease in Ohio has health care officials in West Virginia worried.

250 individuals representing school nurses, public and private health care providers, state health officials, and coalition members and partners from around the state attended the Immunization Summit to discuss how West Virginia can tackle Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. But Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Assistant Surgeon General, Rear Admiral, Dr. Anne Schuchat, says the biggest thing folks in West Virginia need to worry about is measles.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention Assistant Surgeon General, Rear Admiral, Dr. Anne Schuchat at the 2014 Immunization Summit.

“We’re at a twenty year high with measles, and the biggest outbreak is right next door in Ohio. Unfortunately, West Virginia has pretty low vaccine coverage against measles. Only at 85%, and that means that 15% of the children in West Virginia are vulnerable to measles. Measles can be serious and is really infectious, so I would encourage everybody to make sure their kids have gotten the recommended vaccine doses.”

According to Schuchat, there is currently a large outbreak of measles in the Philippines with over 30,000 cases. While the United States has been able to mostly prevent measles from spreading within the country, health officials did not anticipate catching it abroad.

“What happened in Ohio is that some individuals went to do mission work, to do humanitarian assistance in the Philippines, but they’d never been vaccinated. They got measles, they brought it back, they spread it within their own communities.”

Dr. Schuchat encourages adults as well as children to get their measles vaccination, and says West Virginia is a little bit behind the national average and she hopes the Immunization Summit will inspire families to get their vaccinations.