In Kunkel v. NKY Independent Health Department, (KY Cir. Ct., April 2, 2019), a Kentucky state trial court refused to grant a preliminary injunction, thereby upholding the steps taken by a local health department to control an outbreak of chicken pox at a Catholic high school. The health department first imposed an extra-curricular activity ban, and subsequently an attendance ban for students who were not vaccinated or otherwise immune. Jerome Kunkel objected on religious grounds to being vaccinated for chicken pox because the vaccine originated from aborted fetal cells. The court noted that the state is not requiring Kunkel to take the vaccination, but is merely excluding him from school as a means of controlling the outbreak. Fox 19 News reports on the decision.
UPDATE: On June 26, 2019, according to the NKY Health Department, the Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld the trial court's decision.
