Shortly after the Senate Health Committee chairman passionately opposed a bill that would ease vaccination requirements in some West Virginia schools, his colleagues passed the bill.
“I took an oath to do no harm,” said Senate Health Committee Chairman Mike Maloney, a radiologist. “There is no way I would vote yes on this bill.”
The bill passed the Senate on a 20-12 vote. The changes mean that the bill, which has already been passed once, will be returned to the House of Delegates, with just a few hours left in the legislative session.
House Bill 5105 would effectively eliminate vaccination requirements for public school students and also allow private and parochial schools to set their own standards.
But senators repealed a provision that would have allowed parents to send letters citing religious exemptions from vaccination requirements.
The bill drew criticism from West Virginia medical experts throughout its legislative debate.
“We've seen over time that vaccinations work. They are effective. They save lives,” said Lisa, a pediatrician at WVU Medicine Children's Hospital. Dr. Costello testified before the Senate Health Committee earlier this week.
Measles outbreaks have been reported in several states, including Florida and Ohio.
During the vote on the Senate floor, Maloney spoke out against the bill, when committee chairs would normally speak in favor of passage.
“The vaccine is a victim of its own success,” he said, noting that the number of preventable deaths has fallen sharply since the introduction of vaccination.
“So this generation that's pushing these kinds of bills didn't have to be mothers who are scared to death about where their kids go or their kids play with them. They need to buy vaccines. There was no need to fight to get in line. The vaccines themselves were our biggest enemy. They were too good. We are losing herd immunity every day.”
