MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — As several cases related to vaccine exemptions—cases involving religious exemptions—are moving through the courts in Raleigh, Gilmer and Berkeley counties, two medical experts, one retired with pre-vaccine experience and another aligned with the American Academy of Pediatrics, are weighing in.

Dr.James McJunkins

Retired Dr. James McJunkins described his experience during the polio outbreak when those suffering from the mysterious illness needed the help of an iron lung to breathe. Before there was a vaccine, McJunkins said they even restricted exposure to lakes and streams for fear they could contract the illness.

“Back in 1948 to 1955, when it was very prevalent, there were like 16,000 cases a year of this disease,” McJunkins said Thursday on MetroNews “Talkline.” “It was extremely concerning.”

He said vaccines have also been effective in controlling bacterial infections that can be deadly. Without the vaccine, the bacteria can infect the membranes that protect the brain and spinal cord, causing fatal outcomes in some cases.

“It can be so severe it can choke off the blood supply to the brain. It’s so sad for families and one of the hardest things to witness,” McJunkins said. “So, those are just two of the vaccine-preventable diseases I wanted to highlight.”

Dr. Lisa Costello, associate professor in the department of pediatrics at WVU, pediatric hospitalist at WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital, and chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on State Government Affairs, believes medical exemptions should be granted. The recently updated AAP policy statement update to the 2016 policy says the best protection for students in schools is to allow medical exemptions and bar all other non-medical exemptions.

Dr. Lisa Costello

“West Virginia, along with New York, California, Connecticut, and Maine, has that in our state code,” Costello said on “Talkline.” “Really what we’ve seen looking at the evidence is that really does create the safest environment for children to be in school.”

Without vaccine policies Costello said we could allow childhood diseases that have been largely eradicated to spread. The religious freedom law passed in 2023 paves the way for legal injunctions when individual religious beliefs are compromised due to policy.

“Have those people who are medically able to be immunized be immunized when they’re going to be in a setting like school,” Costello said. “Immunization helps protect the child, and we protect the community when our immunization rates are high.”

Medical exemptions are typically tied to an ongoing treatment or condition that is not permanent. Costello believes that is the most effective strategy moving forward to keep kids in the classroom safe and healthy.

“I think it is important to note as well that most of those medicals are temporary,” Costello said. “So, that’s why it is important in the policy statement that I was a co-author on—looks at that to relook at when a person could be reimmunized.”

The current West Virginia Board of Education policy is to deny religious exemptions and follow the law. The boards of education across the state have followed that policy and are exposed to legal action due to the 2023 law.