Time for some measles problems in Ft. Lee
While the CDC is warning that measles may be on the verge of a "large outbreak" and the president is urging people to get vaccinated so that this does not happen, the news that a Republican governor disagrees with the president and/or the science thing was, I suppose,
inevitable:
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's (R) office had some damage control to do Monday morning after Christie said that parents need to have "some amount of choice" about vaccinations, even as a measles outbreak spread from California.
But now it's gotten worse, because in addition to
an old Don Imus interview in which Christie opposed mandatory vaccinations, a anti-vaccinations parent was able to pipe up with a letter showing Christie's support for their group
and their (entirely disproven) claim of
a link between vaccinations and autism:
Louise Kuo Habakus, an anti-vaccination activist who runs the site FearlessParent.org, provided a letter to MSNBC Monday in which Christie purportedly endorsed her concern that vaccines may be linked to autism – a concern long discredited by public health officials. [...]
“Many of these families have expressed their concern over New Jersey’s highest-in-the nation vaccine mandates. I stand with them now, and will stand with them as their governor in their fight for greater parental involvement in vaccination decisions that affect their children.”
Oh, Lord.
You know what Chris Christie's best defense in all this is? That he's such a craven nothingburger of a politician (hey, he has deep principles on how to farm pigs now, or at least ever since some guy in Iowa told him so) that I think you could dig up a letter from Chris Christie supporting or opposing pretty much anything anyone ever asked him to. I don't think he gives a rat's ass whether anyone gets immunized or whether vaccinations are made from the devil's own tears, he'll have whatever opinion he needs to have in order to get yer vote and/or stick it to that Obama guy.
So now the world awaits news on whether Chris Christie still thinks vaccines cause autism or whether he has moved on from that position. It's anyone's guess, so place your bets!