2020 Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg backtracked after his campaign said he supported “some” exemptions to mandatory vaccines.
“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 representative for Buttigieg told BuzzFeed News.
The representative for the South Bend, Ind., mayor said those exceptions include “medical exemptions in all cases” and “personal/religious exemptions if states can maintain local herd immunity and there is no public health crisis.”
[Opinion: Buttigieg, Harris, and Gillibrand shamefully equivocate on vaccination]
After the publication of the comments, the campaign said in a “clarifying statement” that Buttigieg only supported medical exemptions.
“Pete believes vaccines are safe and effective and are necessary to maintaining public health,” the representative 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.”
A debunked study claiming the measles vaccine caused autism helped fuel skepticism of the vaccine. Health officials said Monday more than 700 people have been infected with the highly infectious virus, the most since 1994. The virus was officially declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000.
