The national debate over vaccinations has spilled over into the 2016 race for the White House.
Potential Republican candidates New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, brought up an ongoing nationwide debate over whether parents should have a say in vaccinating their kids.
Following the recent measles outbreak in California, which rapidly spread from Anaheim at the Disney theme parks to over 100 confirmed cases across 14 different states, the debate underscores the need for strict vaccination policies in the nation.
Christie and Paul’s remarks were not a departure from their previously-stated positions on the issue, but have drawn widespread attention and criticism in light of the current measles situation. The outbreak follows last year’s record of 644 cases diagnosed across 27 states—the largest outbreak since the virus was declared “eliminated” in 2000.
Many parents nationwide remain skeptical, citing personal, medical, or religious beliefs to not getting their children vaccinated. Infants face more than 20 shots before they are 18 months old, causing parents to question the speed and utility of every dose. Some parents are concerned vaccines can lead to autism and developmental disorders, a link already debunked by rigorous medical research.
California, for example, has a large number of families with exemption waivers for various reasons for the state-required MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine.
Christie spoke Monday, Feb. 2 after touring a biomedical research lab that makes vaccines in Cambridge, England, punting on questions about vaccinations and their benefits and potential risks during his three-day UK trip.
“All I can say is we vaccinated ours,” he said, taking about his own children. “I also understand that parents need to have some measure of choice in things as well. So that’s the balance that the government has to decide.”
The rather casual response trampled Christie’s message in the UK apparently meant to polish foreign policy credentials. It was also “uncharacteristic” for the governor, who is known for regularly shouting down critics and telling it like it is, and who once defied the White House by forcibly quarantining a nurse who treated patients for Ebola.
Reporters and Democrats jumped on the chance to brand Christie as “anti-science” and “not doctor or leader material” in the early skirmishes of a likely presidential campaign.
“To be clear: the Governor believes vaccines are an important public health protection and with a disease like measles, there is no question kids should be vaccinated,” said a spokesman for Christie. “At the same time different states require different degrees of vaccination, which is why he was calling for balance in which ones [the] government should mandate.”
Republican Sen. Rand Paul, an eye doctor and physician, agreed with Christie’s position. In a recent interview he said that he thought vaccinations were a good thing, but parents should have some input in how they are used, adding that he had heard of many cases of children who ended up with developmental problems after immunization. Because of this, he staggered a program of vaccine doses for his own children when they were newborns.
“I have heard of many traffic cases of walking, talking, normal children who wound up with a profound mental disorder after vaccines,” Paul said. “I think the parents should have some input. The state doesn’t own your children.”
Paul’s later statement pointed out that the senator’s children had all been vaccinated, and that he “believes that vaccines have saved lives, and should be administered to children.”
Even leading Democratic contender for the party nomination in 2016, Hillary Rodham Clinton, couldn’t resist a sassy comment on the issue.
“The science is clear: the earth is round, the sky is blue, and #vaccineswork. Let’s protect all our kids. #GrandmothersKnowBest,” she tweeted.
When asked about the outbreak, President Barack Obama simply responded that all parents should get their kids vaccinated, and believe the scientific facts over myths. Children who are not immunized put infants and those who cannot get vaccinated at risk, he said.
“I understand that there are families that, in some cases, are concerned about the effect of vaccinations,” Obama said. “The science is, you know, pretty indisputable.”
The MMR vaccine is proven 97 percent effective at preventing the highly-contagious measles virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The US is one of the most vaccinated nations in the world.
(With reports from Associated Press, FoxNews.com, CNN)
