West Virginia medical association wary of bill loosening vaccination requirements
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CHARLESTON -- A medical association in West Virginia is watching a bill expanding exemptions for required immunizations for kids to go to school based on religious reasons.
Senate Bill 535 seems more aimed at personal beliefs because few religions don't condone vaccinations, according to Dr. Tracy Hendershot, a family physician who is the legislative affairs chairman of the American Academy of Family Practice West Virginia Chapter.
"Most modern religions support vaccinations," Hendershot said.
SB 535 was introduced on Feb. 1 and assigned to the Health and Human Resources Committee where it remains. The bill adds exemptions to the compulsory immunizations of school children, "but a parent or guardian has the right to raise a child according to his or her religious and philosophical beliefs," according to the bill synopsis.
"The definition of religion is not well-defined," he said.
West Virginia ranks among the highest of states with the number of school kids who are immunized, Hendershot said. Vaccination laws are a model for other states, he said.
Health of the children and the community are the primary concerns, Hendershot said.
Because of herd immunity through vaccination, dangerous illnesses don't spread, Hendershot said. A person who is unvaccinated is less likely to become infected because most everyone else has been immunized, he said.
However, the chance of spreading a disease increases as the percentage of those immunized drops, he said.
"As the number of immunizations start to drop, you start to see more communicable diseases spread," Hendershot said.
And the student is hurt by not being in school and the community is hurt when the disease spreads to others, he said.
Most people support vaccinations, as do medical providers and health care institutions, Hendershot said.
Similar bills have been introduced each legislative session for at least the past 15 years, but the political winds have changed with an emphasis on personal freedoms, Hendershot said. A small but vocal group of people concerned with vaccinations and wanting more information has the ears of legislators, he said.
He doesn't expect SB 535 to move. He does worry a bill based solely on religious reasons for exemptions will come up late in the session and people will not have time to react.
"This is the closest it has ever gotten to passage," Hendershot said.
Jess Mancini can be reached at jmancini@newsandsentinel.com.