UNION, Ky. (FOX19) – The Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday on the case of the northern Kentucky Catholic high school student who sued the Northern Kentucky Health Department over their decision to keep unvaccinated students out of school and sporting events amid a chickenpox outbreak. The health department banned all students at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and Assumption Academy who did not have proof of immunity when an outbreak of 32 cases began. Assumption Academy senior Jerome Kunkel, 18, claimed the Varicella Virus vaccination went against his religious beliefs and refused the shot. The court upheld the Boone County Circuit Court’s ruling that found that the control measures taken by the health department at Assumption Academy were ‘reasonable, appropriate and necessary to control the spread of a highly infectious disease.’ NKY Health put out a statement about the ruling calling it a ‘resounding victory for public health in Kentucky.’ Their statement addressed the court’s ruling which also stated that the court of appeals felt that if the illness was left uncontrolled, ‘chickenpox, also known as varicella, can result in serious, if not deadly, consequences.’ “Supporting the actions of the Health Department, the Court of Appeals quoted […]

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