As health experts tout high childhood vaccination rates, W.Va. lawmakers are skeptical

While West Virginia faces numerous challenges to improving health, the childhood vaccination rate has been a state point of pride. Since the 2017 school year, the state’s kindergartners have consistently had higher vaccination rates than the national average. Health experts say that’s a product of laws. West Virginia is one of only five states which does not allow public and private schools students to forgo vaccination for religious or philosophical reasons. Shannon McBee, the state’s epidemiologist, told West Virginia lawmakers that the law is a big reason why West Virginia,...