Rand Paul: Most vaccines should be voluntary

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Monday said most vaccines should be “voluntary,” as he waded into the politically charged debate over the outbreak of measles in 14 states.

Paul was asked to weigh in on vaccines, after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), a likely rival for the GOP nomination in 2016, said Monday morning that there should be “some measure of choice” for parents leery of vaccinating their children.

{mosads}”I’m not anti-vaccine at all, but most of them ought to be voluntary,” Paul, an ophthalmologist, said Monday on the “Laura Ingraham Show,” in a segment circulated by the Democratic National Committee along with criticism of Paul’s views.

Paul added a shot at potential presidential primary rival former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who made an HPV vaccine mandatory in his state before later calling it a “mistake.”

“I think there are times where there can be some rules, but for the most part it ought to be voluntary and the biggest one is — I don’t know if you remember when Governor Perry made it mandatory to get, for a sexually transmitted disease, to have everybody have to take it,” Paul said. “While I think it’s a good idea to take the vaccine, I think that’s a personal decision for individuals to take and when they take it.”

Paul added that he staggered the vaccines given to his children. 

“I was annoyed when my kids were born that they wanted them to take Hepatitis B in the neo natal nursery, and it’s like, that’s a sexually transmitted disease or blood-born disease, and I didn’t like them getting 10 vaccines at once, so I actually delayed my kids’ vaccines and had them staggered over time,” he said. 

Thomas Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), warned on Sunday that there could be a “large outbreak” of measles in the United States, and attributed it to the “small but growing” number of people who opt not to vaccinate.

President Obama, in an interview with NBC News that aired Monday, said the science behind vaccination is “pretty indisputable” but has not called for making a measles shot mandatory.

Democrats are seizing on the battle over vaccines to try and portray the Republican Party as anti-science.

“Why is this so hard? When given the opportunity to show leadership in calling for Americans to vaccinate their children to protect our nation from the spread of disease, shouldn’t this be a no-brainer?” the DNC asked in a statement. “Instead, Republican after Republican is bowing to the rhetoric of the anti-vaccination movement instead of standing up for the science supported by almost all doctors and scientists on protecting our kids and keeping our nation safe.”