One Georgia congressman says he chose not to vaccinate his children and that things are fine.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., said at a town hall meeting last week that “most” of his children — he has three grown ones, according to his website — have not been vaccinated and to this day remain healthy, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
“I believe it’s the parents’ decision whether to immunize or not. And so I’m looking at [my] wife – most of our children, we didn’t immunize. They’re healthy. Of course, home schooling, we didn’t have to get the mandatory immunization,” Loudermilk, who is a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, said when asked by a constituent about falsified data on vaccination safety.
When asked if the committee has jurisdiction to hold a hearing on the issue of vaccinations, Loudermilk said he will look into it.
“The Committees on Energy and Commerce and Government Oversight are already looking into this issue, and we’ve been assured they will continue to investigate the matter fully. We look forward to hearing the findings of both committees,” he said.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 20 new measles cases had been confirmed, though the outbreak hadn’t spread to any new states. There are now 141 cases of the highly infectious disease — which was declared eliminated in 2000 after a prolonged vaccination campaign — in 17 states and Washington, D.C.
“We think it should be easier to get a vaccine than an exemption from vaccines,” Anne Schuchat, director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said Monday.
