On Thursday, federal lawmakers urged the Department of Justice to investigate the suspected violation of citizens' constitutional rights in multiple states, by refusing religious exemptions to vaccines.  The states selected include New York, California, Maine and Connecticut.  The Mountain State was left out of the probe, even though Gov. Morrisey’s executive order to allow for religious exemptions has been denied by the West Virginia Board of Education.  

The State Board of Education as well as county boards have been targeted with numerous lawsuits as a response of the denial, including Gilmer, Berkeley, Kanawha, Mineral and Raleigh counties. Presently, the WV Supreme Court is reviewing aspects of the Raleigh County ruling.

West Virginians for Health Freedom immediately sent out messages to the Children’s Health Defense Network to ask for inclusion in the probe, citing current litigation over the Governor’s EO and the need for religious exemptions in the Mountain State. 

West Virginians for Health Freedom, a 501(3)(c) non-profit, grassroots organization comprised of West Virginians focuses on “educating people about parental choice without discrimination regarding the health of our children. We also focus on educating parents on the school admission required vaccination schedule along with the risks associated with each vaccine.” (WVHF)   

Among the organization are individuals, including children, who have been vaccine injured.  One parent of a vaccine injured child, Kimberly Nunley, took to social media to express her frustration not only with the state’s vaccine policies but also about being left out of the DOJ probe.  She brought a federal medical exemption for her son, Colton, when they moved to WV, but it was denied.

Aside from a complete absence of a religious exemption, the medical exemption rate for West Virginia is among the strictest in the nation at <0.1% (CDC.gov) 

“WEST VIRGINA IS STILL BEING IGNORED!” She wrote on a social media posted dated February 6, 2026 :

 “He's 12 years old, he's done nothing wrong! He just wants to attend school and play soccer, while I feel stuck in hell in West Virginia where I can't make the money to move to be with him… he was vaccine injured with the kindergarten vaccines and this 7th grade vaccine came out of nowhere and turned his world inside down. Our federal exemption was turned down here.” 

She implored people in West Virginia to remind our federal lawmakers, led by Rep. Greg Steube, urging the DOJ to investigate violations of citizens' constitutional rights, saying: 

“… we’re still here... our voices need to be heard as well. I’m not minimizing their efforts; I’m grateful and find them commendable. But don’t leave us standing on the sidelines while our children suffer from the injustice caused by false information being shoved down the throats of hardworking Americans, trying to pit us against each other. This is where we all need to know what’s going on and stand together for freedom, not divided by misinformation and nonexistent science.” - Kimberly Nunely, mother of vaccine injured child, February 6, 2026 Facebook post

Kimberly and her son, Colton, now 12 years old, told their story of vaccine injury in an interview with the Children’s Health Defense Network in 2025.  Aside from the shocking details of Colton’s adverse reaction to the vaccines he was given as a baby, perhaps the most disturbing aspect were the responses she encountered from medical professionals in West Virginia.