by Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D., Childrens Health Defense:
HHS said today it is investigating a complaint that a Midwestern school ignored a valid religious exemption and did not obtain parental consent when it vaccinated a student. Meanwhile, the West Virginia Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a ruling requiring schools to allow religious exemptions.
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today that it is investigating a complaint that a Midwestern school disregarded a valid religious exemption and failed to obtain parental consent when vaccinating a student.
The federal Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program, run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provided the vaccine.
Schools, medical practices or other entities that accept vaccines from the VFC Program are required to comply “with state religious and other exemptions from compulsory vaccination,” HHS said.
The HHS Office for Civil Rights will examine whether the school failed to meet that program requirement, HHS said.
HHS did not disclose the name of the school under investigation or the student who was vaccinated.
VFC provides free vaccines to children who are uninsured, underinsured or on Medicaid. VFC requires doctors to administer all vaccines on the childhood immunization schedule to children enrolled in the program.
“Today, we are putting pediatric medical professionals on notice: you cannot sideline parents,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. “When providers ignore parental consent, violate exemptions to vaccine mandates, or keep parents in the dark about their children’s care, we will act decisively. We will use every tool at our disposal to protect families and restore accountability.”
HHS said it also issued a letter reminding healthcare providers about a federal law that requires them to allow parents to access their children’s health information.
This is the latest in a series of HHS actions relating to religious exemptions.
In August, the Office for Civil Rights warned West Virginia that it may lose $1.37 billion in federal health funding if the state’s health departments, which are enrolled in the VFC Program, don’t follow laws recognizing religious freedom — including religious exemptions to childhood vaccination.
In September, HHS stated that healthcare providers and states administering vaccines to children through the VFC program must respect religious and conscience exemptions to vaccination in order to maintain their eligibility to participate in the VFC Program.
Read More @ ChildrensHealthDefense.org
