Gazette-Mail editorial: Morrisey's bid to undermine vaccines unpopular

West Virginia has one of the strictest school immunization policies in the nation. Children are required to be immunized against measles, polio, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, mumps and hepatitis B. The only way a child can bypass the requirements is through a medical exemption, which might be issued if the child is allergic to a certain vaccine or has a weakened immune system. 

Morrisey issued an executive order earlier this year allowing an exemption for religious reasons, and then pushed a bill in the Legislature, controlled by a friendly Republican supermajority, to codify the move. However, the bill, which seemed primed to pass, was ultimately voted down. A rampant measles outbreak in Texas that had caused the first measles death in the United States since 2015 might've influenced the vote.

Because of its strict policy, West Virginia is one of the few states that hasn't seen a resurgence of previously eradicated diseases, such as measles. 

That hasn't stopped Morrisey from throwing his support behind individual lawsuits looking to uproot the policy on the grounds of religious freedom. A specific religion that is in favor of exposing children to preventable diseases has been difficult to discern.  

In the MetroNews poll, 75% of respondents said they agree with the current immunization law as it is worded.

It would seem Morrisey is throwing his full political weight into a fight that is at odds with what West Virginians want. Given the history of politics in this state, that's not entirely surprising. However, this has always been a particularly strange fight to pick, and Morrisey's past reasoning has been suspect.

He's argued that most states allow for religious or philosophical exemptions from vaccinations, making West Virginia an outlier. So what? In this case, that's a good thing. In fact, more states in recent years have adopted a law similar to West Virginia's after declining vaccination rates have led to outbreaks of measles or other preventable and once-eradicated diseases. This is not an area where West Virginia is suffering because it's out of step with 45 other states. 

The real reason Morrisey is leading this charge is because it fits with the anti-science wing of MAGA politics, embodied by dangerously unqualified individuals and loons, like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who are dismantling public health. Morrisey doesn't care that few West Virginians actually want a change in immunization policy. He's got eyes on the U.S. Senate, or somewhere else higher up, and boxes to check to get there.

This has nothing to do with religious freedom and even less to do with what's best for West Virginians and their health. It's about moving on and moving up with little to no regard for who might get hurt.