Editorial: Backing Bills that Close Religious Vax Exemption Loophole

State board advised against religious vaccine exemptions

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) -- The West Virginia Board of Education was directed by its counsel at the Wednesday meeting to adhere to current state law on vaccinations. The state board was directed by counsel to follow the current compulsory school vaccination law that does not permit religious exemptions for students. The religious exemption bill was voted down by the West Virginia House of Delegates would have allowed for religious or moral exemptio…

Anti-vaccine movement poses threat to public health progress

Setting a federal religious exemption or expanding the state's medical exemption would undo decades of progress on measles, polio and other diseases.

Editorial: Backing bills that close religious vax exemption loophole

Does the right of a person’s objection to vaccinations on ostensibly religious grounds supersede the threat that poses to the public health of the general population? In this state, that question has again become the subject of heated debate during a recently held legislative hearing. Children are supposed to receive a series of vaccines in order to enter kindergarten — such as the MMR shot to prevent measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox — or …

Childhood vaccination rates in Alaska lowest since 2017

Alaska’s rates for childhood vaccinations are well below the national average, and the percentage of kindergarteners who had received all recommended vaccines was the lowest last year since at least 2017, according to a new report from the state Department of Health. Only 54% of kindergarteners in the state had received all of their recommended vaccinations in 2024, according to a bulletin issued...

Trump urged to address unconstitutional childhood vaccination requirements in 4 states

Unconstitutional vaccine mandates continue to deny children of religious families access to education and health care, says a national coalition of religious and medical liberty groups.

Lawmakers weigh ban on religious vaccine exemptions

BOSTON — Religious exemptions for most vaccinations for school-aged children would be banned in Massachusetts under a proposal being considered by state lawmakers, but critics say the move would be discriminatory and violate religious rights.