Buttigieg campaign says he supports some vaccine exemptions

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is under fire after his campaign told BuzzFeed News that he supports some exemptions from vaccinations based on personal and religious beliefs.

“The law of the land for more than a century has been that states may enforce mandatory vaccination for public safety to prevent the spread of a dangerous disease. Pete does support some exceptions, except during a public health emergency to prevent an outbreak,” a spokesperson for the South Bend, Ind., mayor told the outlet.

{mosads}Buttigieg’s representative said he supports medical exemptions as well as personal belief and religious exemptions granted the state is not facing a public health crisis.

“These exemptions include medical exemptions in all cases (as in cases where it is unsafe for the individual to get vaccinated), and personal/religious exemptions if states can maintain local herd immunity and there is no public health crisis,” the spokesperson said.

After an outcry, Buttigieg’s campaign added a “clarifying statement” on Wednesday morning, saying the candidate only supports medical exemptions.

“Pete believes vaccines are safe and effective and are necessary to maintaining public health,” the spokesperson said. “There is no evidence that vaccines are unsafe, and he believes children should be immunized to protect their health. He is aware that in most states the law provides for some kinds of exemptions. He believes only medical exemptions should be allowed.”

Buttigieg was criticized online over the remarks, and other Democrats in the race were quick to note their support for vaccinations. 

Apparently science is not one of the 29 languages he knows?

— Shakira Kurosawa (@artboiled) May 1, 2019

The only exemption should be if a person isn’t healthy enough to receive a vaccine. There is no herd immunity if people opt out just because they aren’t feeling it.

— M.M. Schill (@mm_schill) May 1, 2019

Personal and religious exemptions are what got us into this mess, @PeteButtigieg. Please be smarter about this. pic.twitter.com/EDa82ftbR7

— Jenn (@electricself) May 1, 2019

Nine Democratic candidates provided BuzzFeed News with responses on their stance to vaccines.

A spokesperson for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told the outlet that Sanders believes “any exemptions should be rare and consistent with public health needs.”

Sen. Kamala Harris’s (D-Calif.) campaign responded with a simple line: “She thinks people should get vaccines.”

All 50 states have legislation requiring specific vaccines for school-aged child but there were 17 states at the beginning of 2019 that allowed philosophical exemptions for those who object to immunizations for a personal or moral reason, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. 

The modern anti-vaccine movement has persisted despite scientific research debunking the myth that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is linked to autism. Anti-vaccination activists have likened public health measures, like banning unvaccinated children from schools, to the Nazi persecution of Jews. 

A measles outbreak has hit 22 states this year, including Buttigieg’s home state of Indiana, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

There have been 704 individual cases reported as of April 26, the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1994 and since measles was declared eliminated.