West Virginia previously had some of the highest vaccination rates in the country. A recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on kindergarten vaccination exemptions cited the state as having the lowest exemption rate in the country, and the best vaccination rates for kids that age.

After a three-day delay, the West Virginia Senate approved Friday a bill to allow parents and guardians to cite religious or philosophical concerns to get out of the state’s mandatory immunization requirements for school-age children,

Most of the discussion on the Senate floor on Friday came from lawmakers arguing against passage of the bill, but the passage vote was overwhelmingly in favor, 20-12 with two absences.

On the eve of the vote in the West Virginia Senate scheduled today on whether to grant broad religious and philosophical exemptions for the state’s school-age mandatory immunization program, two Republican state senators from the same district – both Catholics – are on opposite sides of the issue.

A bill to create a religious exemption for school children's vaccination requirements has passed the West Virginia Senate.

A bill introduced to the West Virginia Legislature would remove rape and incest as exemptions to the state’s current abortion law. Senate Bill 51 was introduced

The West Virginia Senate approved a bill on February 21, 2025, allowing religious and philosophical vaccine exemptions for schools, marking a departure from one of the nation's strictest vaccination policies.

The West Virginia Senate passed a bill allowing vaccination exemptions in public schools to accommodate religious conviction or moral grounds.