GOP: We’re not the ‘anti-vaxxer’ party

Republicans on Capitol Hill wanted to make one thing clear on Tuesday: They’re not the party of “anti-vaxxers.”

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) was emphatic that all children should be vaccinated against preventable diseases, while several Republicans at a House hearing loudly supported immunizations as proven and safe. GOP physicians and other medical experts in Congress warned that parents who choose not to vaccinate their kids are putting the public at risk.

{mosads}The aggressive pushback came a day after two likely 2016 GOP presidential hopefuls — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — suggested parents should have a choice in deciding whether to vaccinate their children.

“If it’s a personal choice, that would mean you could also dump your sewage and trash in the middle of the street,” Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), a retired Navy physician, told The Hill. “Of course, you’re not allowed to do that, are you? It’s against the law. Why? Because of public health.

“Vaccinations have been the most important public health development known to mankind,” he added. “The last thing in the world we need to do is to relax our recommendations on vaccinations.”

Republicans are wary of appearing to play politics with public health amid a measles outbreak that has infected more than 100 people in 14 states. And the vaccination debate marked a rare occurrence where top Republicans found themselves agreeing with President Obama, who strongly urged parents this week to get their kids vaccinated because “it’s good for them.”

“I don’t know that we need another law, but I do believe all children ought to be vaccinated,” Boehner said at a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters.

Just down the street, Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), used an Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on the flu season to hammer home that parents should vaccinate their kids. Facing questions from Murphy, each of the government’s health witnesses strongly encouraged immunizations and testified that there is no evidence that vaccines cause autism — a central claim by some in the anti-vaccination movement.

“There is no credible evidence to support that claim,” said Murphy, a child psychologist. “I hope we can use this platform to educate the public.”

The vaccination debate has roared back to life amid the recent outbreak, which has stretched from California and Arizona to New York. The U.S. has already reported more measles cases in the past month than are usually reported in a year.

Anti-vaccine skepticism largely comes from a decade-old study, now debunked, that suggested the measles vaccine could cause autism.

“You have a better chance of being struck by lightning than having a reaction,” said Robert Wergin, a Nebraska-based doctor and the president of the American Association of Family Physicians.

While visiting the United Kingdom, Christie had said parents should have “some measure of choice” when it comes to immunizing their children. But hours later, his office walked back his remarks, saying the governor believes “there is no question” kids should be vaccinated against the measles.

Paul, meanwhile, stood by his comments to CNBC that vaccinations should be “voluntary” and are an “issue of freedom.”

But in a nod to the growing controversy, the Kentucky ophthalmologist issued a statement Tuesday denying that he had suggested healthy children have developed “profound mental disorders” after receiving immunizations, saying he “did not allege causation” in the interview.

Emphasizing his support for vaccines, Paul on Tuesday received a booster shot for Hepatitis A — then tweeted a photo of it.

Paul’s attempt at damage control followed a stampede of Republicans declaring their support for vaccinations.

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over public health matters, said giving parents a choice to vaccinate simply “doesn’t work,” adding that Paul’s suggestions that vaccines can have strong side effects has been “fairly well disputed.”

“I think vaccination, particularly against measles and others, is very important to public health, and we’re seeing what happens when it doesn’t occur,” Upton told The Hill in an interview.

Other members of the GOP presidential field seized on Paul and Christie’s comments to set themselves apart.

Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Ted Cruz (Texas), Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker all said Tuesday that parents should vaccinate their children.

“There is a lot of fear mongering out there on this. I think it is irresponsible for leaders to undermine the public’s confidence in vaccinations that have been tested and proven to protect public health,” Jindal, a self-described health policy wonk and former Bush health adviser, wrote in a statement.

Still, Paul wasn’t completely alone on Capitol Hill. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), a former pastor, immunized his three children but said citizens should follow the advice of physicians in determining how to protect against diseases.

“For me, I want that to be my choice as a parent, and you know what? I know my kids best,” Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), a father of seven, added in an interview on MSNBC. “I know what morals and values are right for my children, and I think we should not have an oppressive state telling us what to do.”

A patchwork of state laws set the rules on child vaccinations, with nearly all allowing people to opt out of vaccines for personal or religious reasons. Only Mississippi and West Virginia do not allow exemptions.

Fleming and other medical professionals on Capitol Hill emphasized that decisions on vaccination requirements should be left to states, but all of them made personal pleas for parents to vaccinate.

Republican Rep. Paul Gosar, a dentist from Arizona, recalled an outbreak of whooping cough in his community that was traced to people who were not immunized. He warned that the anti-vaccination movement could trigger a spate of lawsuits from parents.

“You have a right not to [vaccinate], but when you cause the problem, you’re responsible for that problem,” he said, “and everybody’s missing that part of it.”