Republican presidential hopeful supports decision not to vaccinate children
Chris Christie says it should be up to parents whether to vaccinate kids
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Your support makes all the difference.New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who many expect to be a top Republican candidate for president in 2016, supports parents deciding against vaccinating their kids, he said Monday, during his visit to the UK.
The issue of vaccinations has become a hot topic in US political debate of late, as a measles outbreak in the western US has brought the anti-vaccination crowd into question.
Those who oppose vaccinations say children’s immune systems can fight off most infections naturally and that the side effects can be damaging. Some studies indicate that vaccinations may trigger autism.
While he had his own children vaccinated, Mr Christie has long supported parents’ right to choose when it comes to vaccinations.
“It’s more important what you think as a parent than what you think as a public official,” he said Monday in the UK. “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. Not every vaccine is created equal, and not every disease type is as great a public-health threat as others.”
While the US Centres for Disease Control recommends that children get 28 doses of 10 vaccines, no federal mandate requires that children be immunized. All 50 states do require that children be vaccinated before they attend public school, but each state also allows medical and religious exemptions.
Mr Christie’s comments come as a measles outbreak, stemming from Disney theme parks in California, has reached 100 cases. Prior to this outbreak, the US had been clear of the disease since 2000.
Both the CDC and President Barack Obama have urged people to get vaccinated to prevent the spread of diseases like measles.
Later on Monday, Mr Christie’s office backtracked from the governor’s previous statement, saying, “The governor believes vaccines are an important public health protection and with a disease like measles there is no question kids should be vaccinated. At the same time different states require different degrees of vaccination, which is why he was calling for balance in which ones government should mandate.”
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