An unvaccinated teen who was banned from school during a chickenpox outbreak now has chickenpox himself, his lawyer says. Jerome Kunkel was not allowed to attend school for at least two weeks when 30 people came down with the virus.
In April, he sued the health department because he was banned from school for refusing to get a vaccine. Kunkel cited religious reasons for not getting vaccinated. "It's derived from aborted fetal cells. And as a Catholic, we do not believe in abortion. We believe it is morally wrong and it would go against my conscience," he told CBS News.
The Northern Kentucky Health Department banned all unvaccinated students until the outbreak at Assumption Academy could be contained. Kunkel, a senior who plays on the school's basketball team, sued the health department in the Boone County Circuit Court, because they wouldn't let him play basketball, CBS affiliate WKYT reports. Kunkel's attorney, Christopher Wiest, claimed his client was discriminated against and "targeted" because of his religious beliefs.