Governor Christie Clarifies Controversial Comment On Vaccinations
LONDON (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has re-ignited the debate over vaccination.
The potential Republican candidate for president spoke after touring a biomedical research center during a three-day trade mission to the United Kingdom.
Christie's comments follow a measles outbreak centered in California that has sickened more than 100 people in the U.S.
One of those confirmed cases is in Dutchess County, N.Y. The person with measles had traveled on an Amtrak train from Penn Station to Albany and Niagara Falls on 1:20 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25.
The governor said there has to be a balance depending on what the vaccine is and what the disease type is.
"All I can say is that we vaccinated ours. That's the best expression I can give you of my opinion," Christie said, "But I also understand that parents need to have some measure of choice in things."
He clarified his words in a statement and called vaccinations an important public health protection.
"Vaccines are an important public health protection and with a disease like measles there is no question kids should be vaccinated," the statement said.
"What I said was that there has to be a balance and it depends on what the vaccine is, what the disease type," the governor added.
Christie's comments stand in contrast to those of President Barack Obama. Obama told NBC News on Sunday that all parents should get their kids vaccinated. The president said those children who are not put infants and those who can't get vaccinations at risk.
As CBS2's Christine Sloan reported, the governor's words stirred controversy at home.
"It's not just you who is involved. It's your neighbors, the kid's classmates, the people you work with," Matt Netter said.
But Sue-Collins, co-chair of the New Jersey Coalition for Parental Choice, did not vaccinate her kids. She is convinced some ingredients in them lead to autism.
"Parents should always have the option to decide what medical treatments their children have whether they want some vaccines, all vaccines, or no vaccines," Collins said.
One infectious disease specialist told CBS2's Sloan that many studies don't link the vaccines to autism, and that when it comes to measles that is no choice, because it is the most contagious disease on earth.
"We have figures that say there were 250,000 cases around the world last year where 150,000 of those children died of the disease," Dr. Lahita, Barnabas Health, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, said.
New Jersey and California are among 20 states that let parents opt out by obtaining personal belief waivers.
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease spread by nasal or throat secretions. It can lead to pneumonia or encephalitis; one in 1,000 children die from it.
Measles symptoms usually appear in 10 to 12 days, but can show up as late as 18 days of exposure. Symptoms usually appear in two stages.
In the first stage, which lasts two to four days, an infected person may have a runny nose , cough and a slight fever, with reddening eyes and light sensitivity while the fever gradually rises each day until peaking as high as 105 degrees. Small bluish-white spots surrounded by a reddish area may appear on the gums and inside the cheeks.
The second stage usually begins on the third to seventh day, and involves a red, blotchy rash that typically starts on the face and spreads downward and outward to the hands and feet. The rash fades in the same order it appeared.
Measles is usually considered a childhood disease, but can appear at any age. People are considered immune if they have received two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine or if they were born before Jan. 1, 1957, or if they have a history of laboratory-confirmed measles or a blood test confirming immunity.
The Health Department emphasizes that the best preventative measure for measles is vaccination.
More information about measles can be found through the Health Department website.
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