FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: February 14, 2025
Time Requested: 04:30 PM |
| Agency: |
Health, WV Department of |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 2909 |
Introduced |
SB466 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
Health |
|---|
|
FUND(S):
8802 - Public Health-Federal Fund
Sources of Revenue:
Other Fund Federal
Legislation creates:
Creates New Expense
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
The purpose of this bill is to establish voluntary vaccinations and eliminate certain compulsory immunization requirements; eliminate vaccine mandates for all citizens of West Virginia; provide immunization information upon request by parents of newborns; provide all vaccinations for West Virginia citizens be voluntary; and establish that vaccinations are not required as a condition of school enrollment, attendance, or employment.
Any fluctuation in the number of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals can impact the risk of preventable disease community outbreaks. With any disease outbreak, there are fiscal impacts for public health to respond to reportable conditions. This includes personnel hours for case investigation and contact tracing (interviews, identifying/follow up with contacts analysis, record keeping), travel (travel for staff to investigate cases, infection control recommendations from site visits), laboratory testing (testing at state public health laboratory, shipping costs, referral laboratory testing, serological testing), communications (developing recommendations, communication with parents/medical professionals, media relations, meeting with state and local officials) and medical countermeasures (vaccines, antibiotics, antivirals) to prevent the spread of disease or to treat cases. In 2024, West Virginia investigated a single case of measles that cost an estimated $75,000 which included a total of 830 public health response hours in a population with historically high immunization rates.
Public health investigations of preventable diseases are resource-intensive and can be expensive for both the state and local health departments. It is impossible to provide an exact cost estimate due to the uncertainty of the outcome. There are several factors that affect the cost of investigating preventable diseases in a community including the number of cases, the type of outbreak, the number of personnel and resources necessary to resolve the outbreak. Different infectious diseases require different resources and costs due to the cost of treating the disease, and days of school or work lost while waiting out the disease's incubation period. All of these factors affect the cost and the higher the cases, etc., the higher the cost to investigate and contain the outbreak.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2025
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2026
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
Memorandum
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Russell Crane
Email Address: OSAfiscalnotes@wv.gov