West Virginia
West Virginia House Rejects Vaccine Exemption Bill
The West Virginia House of Delegates on Monday rejected a bill that would have allowed parents to seek out religious and philosophical exemptions for school vaccinations.
The House, which is composed of 9 Democrats and 91 Republicans, voted 56-42 against the bill, meaning parents and guardians must continue to get their children vaccinated if their children attend West Virginia schools. Two lawmakers were not present or did not vote.
The bill would have mandated that public schools accept the exemptions while private and religious schools have the option to do so. The state Senate voted in favor of the bill. However, the Senate’s version of the bill would’ve mandated that all schools — including public, private and religious ones — accept the exemptions.
Regardless, the House vote blocks a January executive order from West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) that would have allowed families to claim “religious or conscientious” exemptions for their school-aged children.
According to West Virginia’s News, some lawmakers celebrated the bill not passing and called on Morrisey to rescind his executive order.
“Today, members of both parties stood together to prioritize the safety and well-being of West Virginians,” said Del. Anitra Hamilton (D-Monongalia). “We’ve sent a clear message that the health of our children and communities must always come first.”
“Governor Morrissey must now immediately rescind his ill-advised, dangerous, and deadly executive order, respecting the clear voice of our constituents,” said Del. Mike Pushkin (D-Kanawha). “This administration cannot continue to put political pandering ahead of the health and safety of West Virginia families.”
Monday’s vote comes after a group of former state health officers wrote a letter warning lawmakers about “non-medical exemptions” on Friday.
Dr. Matt Christiansen, Dr. Ayne Amjad and Dr. Cathy Slemp argued the financial implications of loosening vaccine requirements, leading to an outbreak, are substantial.
“The cost of a measles outbreak is estimated at $33,000 per case (Pike, et al. 2020),” they wrote. “In West Virginia, the vast majority of these costs would fall to already strained systems ― Medicaid, PEIA, CHIP, the Bureau for Public Health and Local Health Departments. And there are broader societal costs: lost work days, childcare closings, business losses, and days out of school.”
They also added that “strong immunization laws protect our freedom to live without fear of preventable diseases.”
“They protect children with cancer, newborns too young to be vaccinated, pregnant people and the elderly. Weakening these laws will not return us to the rampant disease rates of yesteryear, but will result in some fully preventable illness, birth defects, outbreaks and, yes — on rare but devastating occasions — death,” the letter continued.
Currently, all states and Washington, D.C., allow for medical exemptions for school vaccinations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures, 30 states and Washington, D.C. allow for exemptions for religious reasons while 13 states allow religious or personal exemptions. (Two states don’t specify whether the nonmedical exemptions can be religious or personal.) Finally, just five states, including West Virginia, don’t allow any nonmedical exemptions.
The topic of vaccinations has been a polarizing topic for many, as seen in the decline of child vaccination rates in recent years.
As such, a measles outbreak across multiple states has led to hundreds of people contracting the vaccine-preventable disease.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is notably anti-vaccine and has spread numerous false claims about vaccines, was confirmed to his role as Health and Human Services secretary earlier this year. But experts warned ahead of time that Kennedy’s anti-vaccine standpoints could lead to a public health crisis.
Then, two weeks after his confirmation, an unvaccinated 6-year-old child died after contracting the measles amid an outbreak in Texas. The child is the first person to die from the disease in over a decade.
At least one other person has died amid the outbreak this year, according to the CDC.
Kennedy has downplayed the measles outbreak, telling reporters in February that the outbreak is “not unusual” and “we have measles outbreaks every year.”
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This past week, the parents of the child who died, who are anti-vaccine, said that they still hold those views.
Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.), a pediatrician, slammed Kennedy for the measles outbreak and for his response to the 6-year-old’s death.
“I do blame him and others like him who, for the past 20 years, have been spreading lies about vaccines, which are safe and effective. And that has been proven time and again,” Schrier said. “This is settled science.”
COLUMBUS, OH (Amazing America TV) — ’Tis the season, and there’s no better way to get in a festive mood than hitting the road with your family to check out the colorful displays that bring the holidays to life.
Come along as Amazing America’s Cameron Fontana and his family experience Christmas magic like never before on a weekend holiday road trip through Ohio and West Virginia.
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Night One — Steubenville, Ohio
Cameron and his family take the highway east from Columbus to Steubenville, Ohio. Their first stop: a night at The Steubenville Nutcracker Village.
Nutcracker Village is the brainchild of business owner Mark Nelson and his son-in-law, Brodie Stutzman. To revitalize downtown Steubenville, they thought it would be a great idea to decorate storefront windows with small nutcrackers and turn the area into a must-stop holiday destination.
But that dream wasn’t big enough, so they decided to super-size it. Now there are more than 200 beautifully carved and unique nutcrackers on display throughout the city.
Day Two — Wheeling, West Virginia
Just a short drive south from Steubenville to Wheeling, West Virginia, Cameron and his crew make a stop at Oglebay Park & Resort.
Oglebay Park & Resort is truly a winter wonderland, offering plenty to explore and enjoy. Cameron, his wife Katie, and their children, Chanel and Rush, escape to the North Pole at Santa’s Village and cozy up with some wild friends at the Oglebay Zoo before experiencing the drive-thru wonder of the Festival of Lights.
Day Three — The Trip Back Home
As with all good things, the journey must come to an end. The Fontanas have made new memories on their 2025 Holiday Road Trip and hope you will do the same. As they head back to their home sweet home in the Columbus, Ohio, area, they remind us that the greatest gift you can give your family is love and a sense of safety.
Happy holidays from the Fontana family, and Amazing America. Stay tuned as we celebrate America’s 250th in 2026 and hit the road to explore America, the Beautiful.
For more amazing stories, click here to subscribe to Amazing America TV on YouTube and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
WEST VIRGINIA (WCHS) — A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction order halting the enforcement of certain areas of recent West Virginia legislation that banned certain food colors and ingredients.
The International Association of Color Manufacturers originally filed a lawsuit over the state of West Virginia in October over the matter, saying that the legislation violates West Virginia and United States Constitutions.
The order was issued by United States District Judge Irene Berger. In the order, Berger said the law regarding dyes to be “poisonous and injurious” is likely written to be unconstitutionally arbitrary and vague.
Berger stated the following in her ruling:
Without any clear standards, it is not clear how the WVDOH will determine if a color additive beyond those listed, is “poisonous and injurious,” meaning the WVDOH is free to arbitrarily designate additional color additives as such. What facts or data, if any, must the WVDOH rely on before determining that additional color additives are “poisonous and injurious”? Is it sufficient for the WVDOH to rely on any study when making its determination or none at all? If a parent notifies WVDOH that they believe their child is sensitive to a color additive, is that a sufficient basis for a color additive to be deemed “poisonous and injurious,” or must the WVDOH conduct a further investigation? It is far from clear. As such, because Section 16-7-2(b)(7) leaves such ad hoc and subjective decision-making to the WVDOH, it leaves the door open for arbitrary enforcement, and thus, is unconstitutionally vague.
IACM said that West Virginia law unlawfully took over the power of the United States Food and Drug Administration to make food safety decisions. IACM also said the law interfered with interstate commerce and caused economic harm to IACM member companies and their customers without providing any “substantial or rational basis” for deeming products unsafe.
The legislation, known as House Bill 2354, was signed by West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey in March, banning the use of certain food dyes, including Red No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2 and Green No. 3 in school meals beginning in August.
However, according to court documents, the preliminary injunction does not extend into school nutrition programs.
The preliminary injunction bars the West Virginia Department of Health from enforcing the ban – although the ban was not set to be fully enforced until 2028.
Morrisey disagreed with the ruling on social media, saying the decision is “both premature and wrongly decided.”
“West Virginia will continue to defend its authority to protect the health and well-being of our citizens, especially children,” Morrisey said. “We are reviewing our legal options but will continue to press forward with our efforts to get harmful crap out of our food supply.”
WEST VIRGINIA (WCHS) — The West Virginia Department of Human Services said it saw a significant drop in the number of children waiting on Wraparound services in 2025, reflecting progress its made in strengthening support for children in the Mountain State.
The average weekly Wraparound waitlist declined from 137 children in January 2025 to 14 by November, representing nearly a 90% reduction, according to a news release from the DoHS. Wraparound refers to intensive and individualized support in all areas of their life that aims to prevent children from being placed in out-of-home care.
The agency said the steady downward trend is the result of targeted efforts to expand provider capacity, improve timely access and better align services with family needs statewide.
“Reducing wait times for Wraparound services means children and families receive the right support sooner, when it matters most,” Alex Mayer, Cabinet Secretary of the West Virginia DoHS, said in the news release. “Every child deserves the opportunity to heal, grow, and stay connected to family and community. This progress reflects deliberate efforts to strengthen the workforce, expand provider capacity, and remove barriers that delay care.”
The DoHS said it also expanded service capacity and strengthened coordination across the behavioral health system, including onboarding five new providers and expanding service areas with existing providers.
The Bureau for Behavioral Health further reduced waitlist pressure by providing Intro to Wraparound training to alternative service providers outside of the wraparound network, helping families connect with appropriate supports and further reducing waitlist pressure, the news release said.
To further address ongoing challenges, the DoHS said it is focusing on implementing Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics statewide, boosting provider recruitment and outreach, authorizing telehealth where capacity is limited and expanding the Safe at Home program in high-need counties.
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