West Virginia is just one of five states that does not allow for religious exemptions to its school vaccine mandate — but that could soon change.
Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued an executive order on his first day in office calling for a change to the state’s vaccine exemptions.
West Virginia is one of a few states that only allowed medical exemptions and had one of the highest childhood vaccination rates in the country. But since the governor’s announcement, the state’s health department has issued at least 463 non-medical exemptions for the 2025–26 school year.
“We’re in a situation where we have an executive order that conflicts with the state code, and the courts are the ones left to sort out what rules are going to apply to parents and teachers and school boards,” said [insert name and title if available].
What’s happening in West Virginia is part of a nationwide trend. According to an NBC News and Stanford University analysis of available data, 77 percent of U.S. counties have seen a decline in vaccination rates since 2019.