A Kentucky teen banned from his high school because he didn’t get vaccinated for chickenpox can return to the classroom, but the reason doesn’t stem from his religious freedom case.
Jerome Kunkel, 18, can return to class because he contracted chickenpox, he won’t be contagious and he has immunity, his lawyer, Christopher Wiest, told several publications. The Washington Post reported that Kunkel returned to class Monday. Other publications with stories include the Cincinnati Enquirer, NBC News and CBS News.
Kunkel was banned after a chickenpox outbreak at his school, the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Assumption Academy.
Kunkel has religious objections to the vaccine because it is derived from cells grown from a fetus aborted in England in 1966. A Boone County judge ruled against Kunkel in an April 1 hearing, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported last month. The judge, James Schrand, said the Northern Kentucky Health Department had the authority to take action to stop the spread of contagious diseases.
Unvaccinated teen who sued over ban from school contracted chickenpox; his appeal is still pending