Pete Buttigieg Reverses Position on Vaccines After Swift Backlash

Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg angered public health advocates after his campaign told a news outlet that he would allow personal religious exceptions for anti-vaxxers.

The out Indiana politician quickly issued a statement amending his position. But that came after a quick backlash to a Buzzfeed News article.

Originally, Buttigieg gave a statement that in most cases, he would give broader discretion to parents who elect against vaccinating their children.

His campaign's original statement did affirm that government holds discretion to prevent a health care disaster like the deadly measles outbreak facing the nation.

"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," reads the statement.

"These exemptions include medical exemptions in all cases (as in cases where it is unsafe for the individual to get vaccinated), and personal/religious exemptions if states can maintain local herd immunity and there is no public health crisis."

Mediaite pointed out Buttigieg was the only one of 20 Democratic candidates who suggested parents should be able to employ religious and personal exemptions. Beto O'Rourke declined to take a stance.

Most public health experts agree the measles crisis in the U.S. stems from the growing number of extremists on the left and right rejecting the science of vaccines or believing in a long debunked study connecting vaccines and autism.

After the article published, Buttigieg's campaign issued a new statement moving its platform in line with the other 18 candidates who did not favor such exemptions.

"There is no evidence that vaccines are unsafe, and he believes children should be immunized to protect their health," the campaign said in a statement to reporter Claudie Koerner.

"He is aware that in most states the law provides for some kinds of exemptions. He believes only medical exemptions should be allowed."