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UPDATE: 2/25/2024 - HB 5211 died, it failed to be scheduled for a hearing in the House Health and Human Resources Committee before the deadline for bills to be reported from committee in their chamber of origin of 2/25/2024.
HB 5211 was introduced in the House and referred to the House Health and Human Resources Committee on 1/26/2024. This bill is sponsored by House Delegate Kathie Hess Crouse.
HB 5211 removes all vaccine mandates for school children, children attending state-regulated child care centers, higher education students, and public and private employees.
HB 5211 amends §16-3-4 of the Public Health Code of West Virginia, related to compulsory immunization of school children, information disseminated, offenses, and penalties to establish parental rights in vaccine choice for school children and to also prohibit mask requirements for school attendance. NVIC does not take a position on the use of masks unless they are used as a tool of discrimination or punishment for an individual who refused a vaccine.
Subsection (a) requires the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health to provide parents with all information on childhood vaccines necessary for them to give informed consent to vaccination, including information on vaccine risks and how to report vaccine injuries.
Subsection (b) removes the requirement for specific childhood vaccinations and establishes parental rights in choosing whether or not to have their child vaccinated when entering school or a state-regulated child care center in the state.
Subsections (c), (d), and (e) are revoked, which removes the prohibition of unvaccinated students from school attendance, the requirement to report names of unvaccinated children to the commissioner, and the provisional attendance allowance for partially vaccinated children.
Subsection (g) is renamed (d) and changes the criteria for a shot record from proof of "immunization" to proof of "vaccination." This is a significant change since the CDC recently changed their definition of a "vaccine" to a new definition that reflects the newer vaccines on the market that do not necessarily produce immunity.
Subsection (e) is added to establish a parent or guardian's freedom to make vaccine decisions without compulsion or mandate. This subsection prohibits discrimination in the denial of access to government services or accommodations or the discharge of an individual from a physician's practice based on vaccination status.
Subsection (f) is added to prevent any public, private, or parochial school and state-regulated child care center from mandating the use of masks or facial coverings for attendance. NVIC does not take a position on this subsection of the bill, unless the mask or facial covering is used as a tool of discrimination or punishment for refusing a vaccine.
Subsection (h) is revoked which removes the authority of the commissioner and the office of the Immunization Officer and its authority to regulate vaccine exemptions and certificates of immunization.
HB 5211 creates a new section of code, to be numbered §18B-1-12 "Rights of students to choose regarding vaccination decisions; masks and facial coverings prohibited." This section establishes (a) the right for any college, university, or vocational school student to make a vaccine decision and prohibits said institutions of higher education from prohibiting vaccination as a condition of enrollment, access, or matriculation. This section also (b) prohibits a college, university, or vocational school from requiring masks or facial coverings for the prevention of disease or otherwise. NVIC does not take a position on this subsection of the bill, unless the mask or facial covering is used as a tool of discrimination or punishment for refusing a vaccine.
HB 5211 amends §21-1A-3 related to rights of employees in West Virginia's Labor Code for the private sector to add new subsections (b), (c), and (d) that establishes the right of the employee to make vaccine decisions without coercion by an employer, prohibits mask requirements for employees or customers, and prohibits discrimination based on vaccine status. These subsections are summarized as follows:
Subsection (b) establishes the employees right to make vaccine decisions without coercion by an employer. This subsection prohibits an employer from mandating vaccination as a condition for employment and from using any coercive means to cause an employee to take a vaccine.
Subsection (c) prohibits businesses from requiring masks or facial coverings for the prevention of disease or otherwise for employees or customers. NVIC does not take a position on this subsection of the bill, unless the mask or facial covering is used as a tool of discrimination or punishment for refusing a vaccine.
Subsection (d) prohibits discrimination in the form of involuntary segregation, separation, or quarantine based on the individual's vaccine status.
NVIC SUPPORTS HB 5211 because it protects the parent or guardian's right to make fully-informed vaccination decisions for their child without the threat of losing the right to an education or child care in the state of West Virginia. This bill would drastically expand educational choices for families in West Virginia who currently do not have any religious or reasons of conscious exemption from compulsory school vaccination options in the state. Families who choose not to vaccinate for religious or conscientious reasons are denied the right to a public, private, or parochial school education or state-regulated child care. This bill expands protections to all families in the state to make their own fully-informed vaccine decisions by removing the compulsory school vaccine requirements for all schools in the state, including state-regulated child care and institutions of higher education. This bill also requires the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health to educate parents on vaccine risks and how to report a vaccine reaction. NVIC supports this as its mission is to promote informed consent. NVIC also advocates for the use of the adverse event reporting system VAERS established in the 1986 Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (see HERE and HERE). Furthermore, this bill provides protections for employees in the public and private sector from vaccine requirements as a condition of employment. This protection enables the employee to keep or obtain employment without coercion or discrimination based on their vaccine decisions. Additionally, this protects the individual's private medical information, including vaccine records, from being shared with an employer which is a violation of the individual's right to medical privacy. NVIC opposes all vaccine mandates. Vaccines are pharmaceutical products that carry the risk of injury or even death. Vaccines should not be a condition of receiving an education, obtaining child care, or employment.
https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=5211&year=2024&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill - text, status, and history of HB 5211
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