Mississippi and West Virginia maintain country's strictest vaccination laws

Vaccine-wary parents in Mississippi and West Virginia must continue to comply with mandatory immunization rules for their children to be eligible to attend both public and private schools. Lawmakers in both states rejected legislation last week that would have introduced a religious exemption into their current laws.

“Mississippi is not traditionally viewed as a leader on health issues,” said Dr. Mark Schleiss, a pediatrician and vaccine researcher at the University of Minnesota. “But in this area, they should be proud of the fact that they have not changed this law. Mississippi and West Virginia could be role models for other states.”

Those laws have been on the books for more than three decades in Mississippi and for more than a century in West Virginia. Despite various other changes, as well as several attempts to add religious exemptions to the laws, both states have retained some of the strictest vaccination policies in the nation. Without vaccinations, children cannot attend public or private schools. The only exceptions are for cases in which a serious medical condition prevents vaccination.

“The overwhelming majority of the public … support having more of their children protected through vaccinations than less,” said Dr. Rahul Gupta, West Virginia’s state health officer. He went on to note that the law has been relatively uncontroversial, and that its strictness is one of the reasons West Virginia has been spared from outbreaks like the recent measles scare, which sickened more than 100 people.

But proponents of parental choice in both states continue to advocate for more flexibility. A group called Mississippi Parents for Vaccine Rights is lobbying for a philosophical exemption, arguing the current laws require too many vaccinations too early in life. One of the group’s members, Tracey Liles, recounted how her now 13-year-old daughter ran a high fever and slept for two solid days after a round of vaccinations 10 years ago. Liles recently had to take her daughter for a state-mandated booster shot for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis before she could begin seventh grade.

“Obviously, I wasn’t going to pull her out of school … so, we did it,” Liles said. “Basically, I feel like I was forced to do it. … I didn’t have a choice.”

The controversy over mandatory vaccination laws has become a hot political topic in recent weeks as well. Several potential presidential nominees, including renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, have weighed in on both sides of the issue. In a FOX News interview this week, Carson emphasized good science supports the safety of vaccines and said outbreaks have occurred where there are “large pockets of unvaccinated people.”

But Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who also is a doctor, articulated strong support for parental choice. He argued children belong to parents, not the state.

Mississippi Republican Dean Kirby, chairman of the state’s Senate Public Health Committee, said he has received many calls over the years from people advocating the addition of a religious exemption to the vaccination law. With the recent measles outbreak, though, Kirby said he started hearing from constituents intent on keeping the current laws intact.

“They don’t want their children going to school with people who have not had the shots,” Kirby said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.