Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said he “absolutely” thinks kids should be vaccinated for measles and doesn’t think there’s any credible evidence that, as some opponents of vaccinations say, vaccinations cause autism.
Asked Sen Rubio if children should be vaccinated for measles, and he said “Yes, absolutely.”
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorpNBC) February 3, 2015
Rubio, unprompted, says “There is absolutely no medical science or data whatsoever that links those vaccinations to onset of autism.”
— Alexandra Jaffe (@ajjaffe) February 3, 2015
Rubio’s comments on Tuesday come a day after two potential 2016 candidates, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), both suggested there was something to the arguments of parents who don’t want to vaccinate their kids.
Sigh. The question here isn’t whether kids “should” be vaccinated. They’re all going to agree that kids “should” be vaccinated. The question is whether everyone should be required to be vaccinated and whether the public good of achieving herd immunity and, if we’re diligent and lucky, extinction of the pathogens is sufficient basis for overriding people’s sacred liberteefreedum to may idiotic fucking decisions that affect not just themselves but society generally.
Who cares what he thinks?
Parents were formerly terrified by the possibilities presented by polio, whooping cough, tuberculosis and other diseases that some of us had to survive without the benefits offered by vaccines. Do any recall the relief and joy provided by the Salk vaccine? One would hope that thoughtful parents would no longer require a demonstration of deadliness in order to be persuaded that their children need protection.
A Republican saying something non-insane about science is now considered news. You must be very proud of where you have wound up, GOP.
I was thinking about it this morning and it suddenly hit me that it’s not a coincidence that the generation that’s suddenly deciding this all ought to voluntary, not mandatory, is the first one where an increasing number of their grandparents grew up in a post-vaccine world.