Rand Paul Jokes He’ll ‘Shush’ Moderator Who Asked About Vaccines

Rand Paul 'Shush'
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Clearly tired of being asked about his position on vaccines, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) joked Thursday that he’d “shush” a moderator who brought up the subject.

Several reporters attending Paul’s talk at a tech event the U.S. Chamber of Commerce tweeted that the potential 2016 presidential contender said “You don’t want to be shushed, do you?” when the moderator steered their conversation to vaccines.

Paul was referencing a CNBC interview he gave earlier this month, in which he told anchor Kelly Evans to “calm down a bit” and made a gesture of shushing her.

The senator went on to say Thursday that he wasn’t implying there was a connection between autism and vaccines when he said during that same CNBC interview that he’d heard of healthy children who developed “profound mental disorders after vaccines.”

Paul had also previously said he believes vaccines should be voluntary. He said at the event Thursday that he is not advocating for changes in current vaccination law.

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