Unvaccinated student loses in court after suing health dept during outbreak

Enlarge / Pope Francis in Vatican City, Vatican. (credit: Getty | Pacific Press)

A Kentucky judge has ruled against an unvaccinated Catholic high school student who sued his local health department for banning unvaccinated students from school and extracurricular activities amid a chickenpox outbreak.

On April 2, Judge James Schrand of Boone County Court denied the request for a preliminary injunction that would allow the student, 18-year-old Jerome Kunkel, to return to classes and activities at Our Lady of Assumption Academy in Walton, Kentucky. In denying the request, Judge Schrand sided with the Northern Kentucky Health Department, which argued that it had lawfully done what it deemed necessary to curb the spread of a dangerous infectious disease.

The outbreak sickened at least 32 in the Assumption’s community and had the potential to spread further. Of Assumption’s 240 students, only 18 percent have received all of their vaccinations, according to the school’s registrar.