Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom
Health Director Vanderhoff Orders Segregation of Healthy Unvaccinated Children in 2026 Health Order
ODH Director Bruce Vanderhoff signed an order on February 4, 2026 that pulls healthy unvaccinated children out of school and sports for 21 to 25 days per reported case, restarting every time. Read the order, read our letter, and take action.
Director, Ohio Department of Health, since August 2021.
Appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine.
The order · ODH Director’s Journal Entry · February 4, 2026
What Vanderhoff’s order does to healthy Ohio kids
- Excluded from school and every school activity for 21–25 days after any reported case of measles, mumps, rubella or chickenpox at the school — whether or not your child was exposed.
- The clock restarts every time another case is reported. One outbreak can keep a healthy child out of school and sports for months.
- Not what Ohio law says. ORC 3313.671(C) allows exclusion only for a declared chickenpox epidemic. Nothing in state law allows excluding healthy unvaccinated children for measles, mumps or rubella.
- “Invalid” doses. The same order declares any dose given five or more days before the minimum age “invalid” and requires the child to be re-vaccinated.
- Already in mailboxes. The September 1 letter parents received from Trumbull County school districts spells out the exclusion.
Source: Ohio Department of Health, “Approved Means of Immunization — Pursuant to Sections 3701.13 and 3313.671 of ORC”, Director’s Journal Entry signed by Bruce Vanderhoff. A copy is hosted here in case the state moves or removes it.
OAMF letter · To Senate President McColley, Speaker Huffman and members of the Ohio House and Senate · September 2026
Repeal ORC 3701.13(B)(4). Rescind the exclusion order. Or replace the Director.
the “encourage vaccination” clause ODH is using to segregate healthy children
every exclusion in his order that goes beyond ORC 3313.671(C)
asking that Vanderhoff be removed and replaced
Dear Senate President McColley, Speaker Huffman and House and Senate Members,
Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom is asking House and Senate members to call for the immediate repeal of ORC Section 3701.13 Department of Health – Powers (B)(4). This section, which is supposed to “encourage vaccination,” is instead being abused by the Department of Health to implement state-sanctioned segregation of healthy Ohio children and the coercion and punishment of parents who lawfully exercise their right to vaccine exemptions for school attendance.
School districts and parents across Trumbull, Ashtabula, and Geauga County have received letters from Health Director Vanderhoff, who issued an ORDER on 2/4/26 citing authority under Section 3701.13 to order healthy unvaccinated children to be excluded from school and all school and sports activities for 21–25 days for ANY reported measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox case at the school, regardless of whether the child was exposed. This 21–25 day exclusion RE-STARTS EVERY TIME another case is reported!
Health Director Vanderhoff is setting school EXCLUSION policy for timeframes and infections that are NOT listed in ORC to exclude totally healthy unvaccinated children from school and activities, as a COERCION tactic to BULLY parents into submitting to vaccination against their conscience out of desperation.
“Being fully vaccinated allows your child to remain in the school setting in the unfortunate event of an outbreak.”
From the September 1, 2026 letter to parents sent by Trumbull County school districts under the ODH order
Vanderhoff knows exactly what he is doing. The average Ohio parent can NOT manage having their child doing school from home remotely for WEEKS to MONTHS. How many students will lose out on sports or other college scholarships because they were obstructed from sports and in-person learning? Did we not learn our lesson during COVID as to the level of damage this caused our children in the name of “public health”?
Not only is Vanderhoff’s order a tyrannical infringement on the right of conscience and religious freedom, it is also devoid of scientific merit.
According to a 2007 study from the CDC, there is waning immunity after two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. This study showed that 35% of VACCINATED 7-year-olds, 60% of VACCINATED 15-year-olds, and OVER 60% of VACCINATED adults are able to carry and SPREAD MEASLES WITHOUT signs of infection. Unless the state plans to force vaccinate every man, woman, and child in Ohio with MMR every 5 years, then “herd immunity” to measles is nothing but a scientific fairytale.
It is absurd to discriminate against healthy unvaccinated children when more than 60% of the teachers are able to carry and spread measles to students. If Health Director Vanderhoff’s concern was preventing transmission of measles then he would require the schools to shut down for the duration of an outbreak rather than just excluding healthy unvaccinated children as a punishment for their parents’ choices. For the last 7 years OAMF has made this legislative body aware of these discriminatory practices, and has attempted to pass legislation to correct this injustice… yet nothing has been done. HB 561, our Parental CHOICE Act, would ensure this discrimination no longer occurs, but it too is being held up in committee by Speaker Huffman. The Ohio legislature needs to quickly decide whether or not Ohio is going to be a state that continues to allow the segregation and discrimination of healthy children and the coercion and punishment of their parents for exercising their right of conscience.
If Sec. 3701.13 (B)(4) cannot be repealed prior to session resuming in Nov., then we expect House and Senate Republicans to call on Director Vanderhoff to IMMEDIATELY rescind every part of his order that references school or activity exclusion BEYOND what is allowed under current law Sec. 3313.671 (C). This section ONLY allows exclusion for “chickenpox,” ONLY for a “chicken pox epidemic,” which is defined as “the occurrence of cases of chicken pox in numbers greater than expected in the school’s population or for a particular period of time.” There is NOTHING in state law allowing exclusion of HEALTHY unvaccinated children for Measles, Mumps, or Rubella. If Vanderhoff refuses to reverse these exclusion requirements then we are asking the House and Senate Republican caucus to send a letter to Governor DeWine asking that Health Director Vanderhoff be removed and replaced immediately by someone who will respect the right of conscience for Ohio parents and protect children from discrimination and segregation.
If immediate action is not taken to give relief to these families who are about to have their children excluded from school, we will help these families organize a class action lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Health for discrimination against Ohio parents for exercising their right of conscience under Ohio law.
Also included in Vanderhoff’s “Approved Means of Immunization” 2/4/26 document, he has set a dangerous requirement for parents to RE-VACCINATE their child if ANY DOSE they received did not occur within 4 DAYS before the “minimum age requirement” and labels 5-day-late doses “INVALID.” This requirement puts children at serious risk of vaccine injury due to over-vaccination and places extreme time-constraint burdens on parents. This tyrannical, unfounded requirement is another grave abuse of power on behalf of the Health Director and it demands immediate attention, reprimand, and REPEAL of the order by the legislature.
As Representatives of the people of this state it is your duty to TAKE ACTION to PROTECT the rights of citizens and the right of children to access a public education free of discrimination and segregation. OAMF is asking for a prompt response on what action Republican leadership will take to ensure that the 5.5% of children around the state utilizing vaccine exemptions are not denied access to education and sports opportunities because of unbridled government overreach by the Ohio Department of Health.
Respectfully,
Stephanie Stock
President, Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom
NOTE: a Feb. 2026 national poll conducted by Zogby Strategies shows 66.7% of parents with children under 17 believe they should be able to opt children OUT of school vaccine mandates. Party breakdown was 37% Republican, 36% Democrat, and 27% Independent.
Take the letter with you
The full 6-page letter includes the data pages shown below, plus Vanderhoff’s order and the letter school districts are sending parents. Share the link, not a screenshot — the link carries the action steps.
Attached to the letter · Pages 4–6
The data behind the letter
Every page is sourced. Tap a page to open it full size.
Tell the Republican caucus: rescind the order, or replace the Director
The legislature is out until November. The order is in school mailboxes now. Republican leadership can end this with one letter to Director Vanderhoff — and, if he refuses, one letter to Governor DeWine. Your name and your email are what move them.
Add your name to OAMF’s letter
OAMF delivers every name to the House and Senate Republican caucus and files them as digital signatures with our testimony. The more Ohioans on the record, the harder this is to ignore.
Email the Republican caucus yourself
One button opens a ready-to-send email to Speaker Matt Huffman and Senate President Rob McColley, copied to OAMF. Edit it, sign it with your name and town, and send. To reach all 89 Republican members, copy the full list and paste it into the BCC line.
Speaker Huffman: Rep78@ohiohouse.gov · (614) 466-6344 | President McColley: sd01@ohiosenate.gov · (614) 466-8150. Find your own legislators on the House district map and the Senate district map.
See the 89 Republican members and their emails
House 12 Brian Stewart Rep12@ohiohouse.gov House 17 Mike Dovilla Rep17@ohiohouse.gov House 29 Cindy Abrams Rep29@ohiohouse.gov House 30 Mike Odioso Rep30@ohiohouse.gov House 31 Bill Roemer Rep31@ohiohouse.gov House 32 Jack Daniels Rep32@ohiohouse.gov House 35 Steve Demetriou Rep35@ohiohouse.gov House 36 Andrea White Rep36@ohiohouse.gov House 37 Tom Young Rep37@ohiohouse.gov House 39 Phil Plummer Rep39@ohiohouse.gov House 40 Rodney Creech Rep40@ohiohouse.gov House 44 Josh Williams Rep44@ohiohouse.gov House 45 Jennifer Gross Rep45@ohiohouse.gov House 46 Thomas Hall Rep46@ohiohouse.gov House 47 Diane Mullins Rep47@ohiohouse.gov House 48 Scott Oelslager Rep48@ohiohouse.gov House 49 Jim Thomas Rep49@ohiohouse.gov House 50 Matthew Kishman Rep50@ohiohouse.gov House 51 Jodi Salvo Rep51@ohiohouse.gov House 52 Gayle Manning Rep52@ohiohouse.gov House 54 Kellie Deeter Rep54@ohiohouse.gov House 55 Michelle Teska Rep55@ohiohouse.gov House 56 Adam Mathews Rep56@ohiohouse.gov House 57 Jamie Callender Rep57@ohiohouse.gov House 59 Tex Fischer Rep59@ohiohouse.gov House 60 Brian Lorenz Rep60@ohiohouse.gov House 61 Beth Lear Rep61@ohiohouse.gov House 62 Jean Schmidt Rep62@ohiohouse.gov House 63 Adam Bird Rep63@ohiohouse.gov House 64 Nick Santucci Rep64@ohiohouse.gov House 65 David Thomas Rep65@ohiohouse.gov House 66 Sharon Ray Rep66@ohiohouse.gov House 67 Melanie Miller Rep67@ohiohouse.gov House 68 Thaddeus Claggett Rep68@ohiohouse.gov House 69 Kevin Miller Rep69@ohiohouse.gov House 70 Brian Lampton Rep70@ohiohouse.gov House 71 Levi Dean Rep71@ohiohouse.gov House 72 Heidi Workman Rep72@ohiohouse.gov House 73 Jeff LaRe Rep73@ohiohouse.gov House 74 Bernard Willis Rep74@ohiohouse.gov House 75 Haraz Ghanbari Rep75@ohiohouse.gov House 76 Marilyn John Rep76@ohiohouse.gov House 77 Meredith Craig Rep77@ohiohouse.gov House 78 Matt Huffman Rep78@ohiohouse.gov House 79 Monica Robb Blasdel Rep79@ohiohouse.gov House 80 Johnathan Newman Rep80@ohiohouse.gov House 81 James Hoops Rep81@ohiohouse.gov House 82 Roy Klopfenstein Rep82@ohiohouse.gov House 83 Ty Mathews Rep83@ohiohouse.gov House 84 Angela King Rep84@ohiohouse.gov House 85 Tim Barhorst Rep85@ohiohouse.gov House 86 Tracy Richardson Rep86@ohiohouse.gov House 87 Riordan McClain Rep87@ohiohouse.gov House 88 Gary Click Rep88@ohiohouse.gov House 89 D. J. Swearingen Rep89@ohiohouse.gov House 90 Justin Pizzulli Rep90@ohiohouse.gov House 91 Bob Peterson Rep91@ohiohouse.gov House 92 Mark Johnson Rep92@ohiohouse.gov House 93 Jason Stephens Rep93@ohiohouse.gov House 94 Kevin Ritter Rep94@ohiohouse.gov House 95 Ty Moore Rep95@ohiohouse.gov House 96 Ron Ferguson Rep96@ohiohouse.gov House 97 Adam Holmes Rep97@ohiohouse.gov House 98 Mark Hiner Rep98@ohiohouse.gov House 99 Sarah Fowler Arthur Rep99@ohiohouse.gov Senate 1 Rob McColley sd01@ohiosenate.gov Senate 2 Theresa Gavarone sd02@ohiosenate.gov Senate 3 Michele Reynolds sd03@ohiosenate.gov Senate 4 George Lang sd04@ohiosenate.gov Senate 5 Steve Huffman sd05@ohiosenate.gov Senate 7 Steve Wilson sd07@ohiosenate.gov Senate 8 Louis Blessing sd08@ohiosenate.gov Senate 10 Kyle Koehler sd10@ohiosenate.gov Senate 12 Susan Manchester sd12@ohiosenate.gov Senate 13 Nathan Manning sd13@ohiosenate.gov Senate 14 Terry Johnson sd14@ohiosenate.gov Senate 17 Shane Wilkin sd17@ohiosenate.gov Senate 18 Jerry Cirino sd18@ohiosenate.gov Senate 19 Andrew Brenner sd19@ohiosenate.gov Senate 20 Tim Schaffer sd20@ohiosenate.gov Senate 22 Mark Romanchuk sd22@ohiosenate.gov Senate 24 Tom Patton sd24@ohiosenate.gov Senate 26 Bill Reineke sd26@ohiosenate.gov Senate 27 Kristina Roegner sd27@ohiosenate.gov Senate 29 Jane Timken sd29@ohiosenate.gov Senate 30 Brian Chavez sd30@ohiosenate.gov Senate 31 Al Landis sd31@ohiosenate.gov Senate 32 Sandra O'Brien sd32@ohiosenate.gov Senate 33 Alessandro Cutrona sd33@ohiosenate.gov
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