Wait, what?
Anti-vaccine folks actually applauded Rand Paul’s testimony at the Senate Health Committee Hearing on Vaccines and Outbreaks?
Why Did Anti-Vaccine Folks Applaud Rand Paul’s Testimony at the Senate Health Committee Hearing on Vaccines and Outbreaks?
Surprisingly, many of the things he said weren’t anti-vaccine.
I guess they ignored those parts…
- …given the choice, I do believe that the benefits of most vaccines vastly outweigh the risks.
- I’m not hear to say don’t vaccinate your kids… if this hearing is for persuasion, I’m all for the persuasion. I vaccinated myself. I vaccinated my kids.
- For myself and my kids, I believe that the benefits of vaccines greatly outweigh the risks…
So why were they cheering?
Because that’s not all he said…
“Today, instead of persuasion, many governments have taken to mandating a whole host of vaccines, including vaccines for non-lethal diseases.”
Sen Rand Paul
While some vaccine-preventable diseases are more deadly than others, they can all be deadly. From rotavirus and HPV to hepatitis A, these diseases can kill people.
Which vaccine-preventable disease does he think is non-lethal?
“Sometimes these vaccine mandates have run amok. As when the government mandated a rotavirus vaccine that was later recalled because it was causing intestinal blockage in children.”
Sen Rand Paul
That’s an interesting example of “the government” that has run amok…
Which “government” mandated that the original rotavirus vaccine be given to children?
As Senator Paul hopefully understands, the Federal government doesn’t mandate vaccines for anyone. And since it must be given at such a young age, even states don’t actually mandate that the rotavirus vaccine be given to children…
Even today, there are no mandates for the rotavirus vaccine.
If there were, it still wouldn’t mean giving up your Liberty, after all, vaccine mandates don’t mean forced vaccination.
“It is wrong to say that there are no risks to vaccines. Even the government admits that children are sometimes injured by vaccines. Since 1988, over $4 billion has been paid out from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Despite the government admitting to and paying $4 billion for vaccine injuries, no informed consent is used or required when you vaccinate your child. This may be the only medical procedure in today’s medical world where an informed consent is not required. “
Sen Rand Paul
No one says that there are no risks to vaccines. That’s a classic anti-vaccine talking point.
What folks actually say is that vaccines are safe, with few serious risks.
And the $4 billion that Rand Paul and anti-vaccine folks often talk about has been paid out over more than 30 years, during a time that we have given nearly 300 million doses of vaccines each and every year!
But what’s that he said about informed consent?
Why wouldn’t informed consent be given or be required before getting a vaccine?
Of course, parents get informed consent before getting vaccines.
They don’t get informed consent if they decide to skip or delay their child’s vaccines after getting bad information.
“Now proponents of mandatory government vaccination argue that parents who refuse to vaccinate their children risk spreading these diseases to the immunocompromised community. There doesn’t seem to be enough evidence of this happening for it to be recorded as a statistic, but it could happen. But if the fear of this is valid, are we to find that next we will be mandating flu vaccine?”
Sen Rand Paul
Lastly, why didn’t Sen Paul find evidence that intentionally unvaccinated kids are spreading disease to the immunocompromised community?
Maybe he didn’t look…
It happens.
Do we need it to happen more often so that it becomes a large statistic before he and others will advocate that folks get vaccinated to attend school?
Do you understand have a better understand now why anti-vaccine folks were cheering after his testimony?
“If you believe in Liberty, that’s fine, don’t get immunized. But I don’t think that you need to necessarily expose others to disease.”
Sen Bill Cassidy
It should give you a better understanding both of Rand Paul’s ideas and those of the anti-vaccine movement.
More on Rand Paul’s Testimony at the Senate Health Committee Hearing on Vaccines and Outbreaks
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- HELP Hearing Vaccines Save Lives: What Is Driving Preventable Disease Outbreaks?
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- Rand Paul: Sure, Vaccines Are OK, But We Shouldn’t Trade ‘Liberty’ for ‘False Sense of Security’
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