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Judge subpoenas acting state officer in Raleigh County religious vaccine exemption case

Acting State Health Officer Dr. Mark McDaniel could take the stand in Raleigh County Circuit Court next month as a hearing on a permanent injunction to require the school system there to accept religious exemptions to West Virginia’s compulsory vaccine law. (Photo by Steven Allen Adams)

CHARLESTON — Last week, a judge in Raleigh County took testimony from a former state health officer in a case that could determine whether Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s religious exemption executive order is legal. Now, the new state health officer will have to testify.

Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Judge Michael Froble issued a subpoena Tuesday for Dr. Mark McDaniel, the acting state health officer and commissioner of the Bureau of Public Health within the West Virginia Department of Health (DoH), to testify in the ongoing permanent injunction case filed by Raleigh County parents against the state Board of Education and Raleigh County Board of Education.

DoH Secretary Arvin Singh appointed McDaniel as the acting state health officer in August, with McDaniel officially beginning his job on Aug. 25 after the position had remained unfilled since Dr. Matthew Christiansen resigned the position last December as former governor Jim Justice’s second term was coming to an end.

A former state air surgeon for the West Virginia Air National Guard, McDaniel retired at the rank of colonel after 25 years working in both the military and private sectors. He is also a regional medical supervisor for AFC Urgent Care Centers in North Carolina and Virginia, and a regional medical director of LabCorp Inc.

The Bureau of Public Health is an agency overseen by the state health officer, a position that reports directly to the Department of Health secretary. The bureau oversees several agencies, including the Medical Examiner’s Office; the Health Statistics Center; the Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease; and the offices of Medical Cannabis, Maternal Child and Family Health and Environmental Health Services.

The state health officer oversees the Public Health Laboratory, the Center for Threat Preparedness and the Office of Epidemiology and Prevention Services. The state health officer is at the heart of the state’s religious exemption program to West Virginia’s compulsory vaccine law for public and private school-age children.

State Code 16-3-4 requires children attending public or private school to show proof of immunization for diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella and hepatitis B unless proof of a medical exemption can be shown.

Executive Order 7-25, issued by Morrisey on Jan. 14, ordered the Bureau of Public Health to establish a process for parents and/or guardians to seek exemptions on religious or conscientious grounds to the compulsory immunization law, allowing for parents to submit to the bureau a signed letter as sufficient proof. In a Sept. 3 statement to West Virginia Watch, McDaniel said he supported the executive order.

“I agree with Gov. Morrisey’s position that no West Virginian should ever be forced to choose between their religious convictions and access to education,” McDaniel said. “Our governor’s leadership makes clear that protecting fundamental freedoms can go hand-in-hand with safeguarding public health.”

The governor issued further guidance in May to parents, guardians, and school officials on his religious exemption executive order, how to obtain the exemption for the current school year, and what information to provide to the Bureau of Public Health. But in June, the West Virginia Board of Education issued its own guidance to county school systems requiring them to only accept medical exemptions as allowed under the compulsory immunization law.

Morrisey’s executive order and the reaction of state and local education officials has resulted in several lawsuits in multiple counties. But focus remains on a case filed by Raleigh County parents in June to prevent state and local education officials from not accepting their granted religious exemptions in order to enroll their children in public school. Froble granted a preliminary injunction in July, which has been appealed to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.

However, the case for a permanent injunction continues. During two days of hearings last week, Froble heard expert testimony on behalf of the plaintiffs and defendants. On Sept. 11, former state health officer Dr. Cathy Slemp took the witness stand. She defended the state’s compulsory vaccine law, presenting evidence that the law – which has been in State Code for the last 88 years – has helped reduce disease spread and improve public health.

“At the end of the day, the compulsory vaccine law actually is about creating healthy communities,” Slemp said. “It’s about protecting the health and safety of children, having a well-vaccinated population so that we decrease disease spread and the occurrence of outbreaks.”

The permanent injunction hearings will continue Wednesday, Oct. 8, and Thursday, Oct. 9.

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.

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