Pete Buttigieg gave an answer on vaccine exemptions. He changed it after criticism.

[TexasTowelie]

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg changed his answer to a national news organization's questions about vaccines, saying that he backed exemptions only for medical reasons after initially saying he also supported "personal belief and religious exemptions" in some instances.

The campaign's initial response drew criticism online and follows a growing number of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in Indiana and across the nation.

Buttigieg responded to three questions he and many other 2020 presidential candidates were asked by BuzzFeed News for a story that posted Tuesday night. They are:

1) What do you believe about vaccines?

2) Do you believe vaccines are a possible cause of autism?

3) Do you support efforts to end religious and personal belief exemptions, leaving only medical exemptions?

Read more: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/05/01/pete-buttigieg-vaccines/3639678002/

[SidDithers]

1. Thought Mayor Pete was supposed to be smartest guy in the room...

His was a pretty uninformed vaccine opinion.



Sid

[lark]

2. He learned and changed it and it's much fine now.

I think that's the mark of a super intelligent person - to learn and grow and acknowledge that to the world.

[leftofcool]

3. He still is

[LanternWaste]

4. What led you to "think" that?

And what in the advancement of his education and broadening of knowledge compels you to deny it in the here and now?

(I get it... I pretend to "think" things too, only to trivialize them later)

[SidDithers]

6. I'd seen him described on Twitter, linked here...

as “the smartest guy in any room”

Personally, I find his opinions too pious for that descriptor to be accurate.

Sid

[leftofcool]

12. Here we go

[Indygram]

5. Not unusual for someone who doesn't have kids to have not thought much about vaccinations

Medical and religious reasons are fine for exceptions...but not personal reasons.

This is something I really don't get with anti-vaxxers...the same people who reject science on vaccinations usually embrace science on things like Climate Change. Makes no sense to me at all.

[SidDithers]

9. No, religious reasons are not fine for exemptions...

religion has no place in public health.

We wouldn't accept a religious exemption to climate changes solutions, why should we accept it with respect to public health?

Sid

[AlexSFCA]

7. I'm dissapointed

This is the first time Pete dissapointed me. This was a very simple question that a 5 grader should know. More disturbingly, he brought religious beliefs into this. Not the type of question I would expect issuing corrections for.

[jaceaf]

8. glad the tide is turning on this issue across the board

As Mayor, he really should have a clear position on this.

I can't trust someone who mentions religion so much to not bring it into the political realm. It just should not be part of the conversation.

[Celerity]

10. Glad to see he clarified to a defensible position. If he had doubled down I would have had to

withdrawal my support.

[Buckeyeblue]

11. I like Pete. I like that he is young and thoughtful

I'll be honest though. His seemingly bending over backwards to appear religious and to accommodate religious viewpoints is a little off-putting to me. Full disclosure--I'm an atheist and while I support religious freedom, I don't have to go out of my way to accommodate it. Nor do I really have to respect or like it.