Bill > HB2004

This bill modifies West Virginia's existing vaccine requirements for school children by introducing new provisions for exemptions based on religious and philosophical beliefs. The bill changes references from "commissioner" to "state health officer" throughout the existing law and adds several key provisions. Specifically, parents or legal guardians can now submit a written annual statement objecting to immunizations on religious or philosophical grounds, which will exempt their children from the existing vaccine requirements for public, private, and parochial schools. The bill maintains existing medical exemptions, which require certification from a licensed physician that immunization is contraindicated or poses a specific risk. Additionally, the bill requires schools to create and publicly post annual reports detailing the number and percentage of students granted vaccination exemptions, while explicitly protecting individual student privacy by prohibiting the inclusion of personal identifying information. Full-time virtual public school students are automatically exempt from vaccination requirements. The bill preserves the existing list of required vaccines, which includes immunizations for chickenpox, hepatitis-b, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus, and whooping cough, and continues to allow county health departments to provide vaccines free of charge for families who cannot afford them.

Health and Social Services

http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=2004&year=2025&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill