At the recent Republican presidential debates, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has come under fire for his decision as governor to mandate the HPV vaccine, which prevents cervical cancer. Other candidates have criticized his perceived abuse of his gubernatorial power to force a perhaps unnecessary vaccine on young girls.
His most vocal critic is fellow candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. who has claimed that not only was Perry wrong to mandate the vaccination but that the vaccination itself is dangerous and can cause mental retardation. As one might expect, as far as the candidates are concerned, there is no middle ground here — the HPV vaccine is either a godsend which girls absolutely must receive or it’s dangerous and can cause life-threatening conditions.
Neither of these views, however, is entirely correct. Perry claims he was trying to save lives while simultaneously holding the record for most executions in a gubernatorial reign (234 since he took office in 2000), which seems contrary. Additionally, as several of the other candidates pointed out, he probably shouldn’t have mandated the vaccine, although he did provide an opt-out option.
Unlike other common diseases that are vaccinated against, HPV is transmitted sexually, which makes it significantly harder for middle school girls to catch. Although the HPV vaccine is by all accounts something all girls should receive, it’s not in the same class as measles and isn’t something that needs to or should be mandated.
More significantly, however, Bachmann’s claims about the vaccine’s consequences are flat-out incorrect, and so dramatically so that the American Academy of Pediatrics released a statement refuting Bachmann’s claims, stating that “There is absolutely no scientific validity to this statement” and that the “life-saving vaccine that can protect girls from cervical cancer” has an “excellent safety record.”
It’s practically expected that presidential candidates will make extravagant claims during campaign season, but this crosses the line from exaggerated to outright dangerous.
This kind of incendiary, fear-mongering rhetoric is not only a dishonest campaigning strategy but outright harms the public. Bachmann told the Today Show that people have to draw their own conclusions about the safety of the vaccine. But when this kind of blatant misinformation is running rampant, it makes it significantly more difficult for parents to make informed decisions about the vaccinations that their children should receive.
Furthermore, after being faced with the reality of the vaccine, that it’s just as safe as any other vaccine out there, she refused to correct her statements.
“I didn’t make any statements that would indicate I’m a doctor, I’m a scientist, or making any conclusions about the drug one way or the other,” she said during a campaign stop in San Francisco, The Huffington Post reported.
That’s right: because she didn’t claim to be a medical professional, she can say whatever she likes about a vaccine and assume that people know that she has no grounds for the claims she’s making.
This kind of rhetoric has to stop. It’s harmful not only to the political process but to the public as well.