The Insane Vaccine Debate

The Insane Vaccine Debate | Heartlander Magazine:

The issue of mandatory vaccination is once again an item of debate in media circles given the recent outbreaks in measles, and fueled this week by the continued inability of politicians to discuss vaccination policy without sounding like anti-science fools.

It’s surprising that Chris Christie, who was so bold in the use of state plenary power when it came to Ebola, would be the first to put his foot in his mouth on this topic. I understand what he was attempting to say when it came to calling for “balance” in such matters, but the impact of his remarks drew out demands by the media that others respond. Here was Carly Fiorina on the subject, raising the issue of HPV. Rand Paul joined Christie on the subject, agreeing with him for once. Frustrated by the debate, the Kentucky Senator shushes his female interviewer at the three minute mark. I would suggest he not try that tactic against Hillary Clinton.

This would make for the third consecutive presidential cycle in which the candidates have gotten suckered into pretending there is some kind of legitimate debate about American vaccination policies. In 2012, it was Michele Bachmann turning Rick Perry’s Gardasil program into a cause of mental illness. In 2008, Barack Obama implicitly and John McCain explicitly endorsed the idea that autism was on the rise due to vaccination. McCain was actually much worse on the topic, and this piece by Dr. Manhattan (whose son is autistic) contains every bit of information you could ever need on how wrong the senator was.

The current vaccine debate, unlike those prior ones, is actually motivated by a real problem (the return of diseases presumed previously eradicated) as opposed to conspiratorial musings.