The Trump administration is urging West Virginia to offer religious exemptions from school vaccine mandates, alarming public health advocates who see it as part of a broader campaign to undermine an effective immunization strategy.
West Virginia, which has one of the nationās strictest vaccine mandates, has been embroiled in a dispute over Republican Gov. Patrick Morriseyās demand to let parents decline shots for their children by invoking their religious beliefs.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services backed the governorās efforts last week by sending a letter to West Virginia officials warning that the state may be violating civil rights laws. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a critic of vaccine mandates who founded an anti-vaccine organization, followed up with an X post supporting Morrisey and vowing to ādefend every familyās right to make informed health decisions.ā