RFK Jr. voices support for West Virginia governor amid vaccine exemptions lawsuit

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WBOY) — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday that he stands with West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey and his executive order to loosen vaccine mandates in schools.

In a post on X, Kennedy said that an executive order by Morrisey from January that calls for exemptions to West Virginia’s school vaccine requirements “upholds West Virginians’ religious freedom and parental rights.”

The West Virginia Department of Education decided not to enforce the order, especially since a bill in line with the order failed in the West Virginia Legislature.

There is also an active lawsuit against the order that was refiled last week by the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia on behalf of several parents of immunocompromised students. While lawsuits are ongoing, several students have been granted injunctions to attend school without the required immunizations, including two students in Gilmer County.

Morrisey’s order calls for exemptions at a statewide level to the current vaccinations required for students to under public school, including for religious and conscientious reasons.

Kennedy said in the post that state legislators should support Morrisey’s order and “protect these fundamental rights.”

“At @HHSgov, we will enforce conscience protections and defend every family’s right to make informed health decisions,” Kennedy said.

In a response, Morrisey called the exemptions a “common sense policy” on the grounds that West Virginia is one of only a few states that do not allow exemptions for vaccinations.