Hillary Clinton trolls GOP with pro-vaccine tweet
Story highlights Hillary Clinton compared the anti-vaccine position to questioning whether the sky was blue or the earth was round Some Republican presidential hopefuls have questioned the safety of vaccines and whether they should be required
Clinton is the prohibitive favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and the tweet was seemingly aimed Republican presidential hopefuls who have questioned whether vaccinations should be required and whether they are tied to mental disorders.
Clinton ends the tweet with a nod to her granddaughter, Charlotte, who was born late last year. Clinton regularly used her grandmother status as a rhetorical tool while campaigning for Democrats in 2014.
Federal health officials have expressed concern over a recent measles outbreak that has been fueled by skepticism among some parents of infant vaccination schedules. Measles is a disease that children a regularly vaccinated against.
READ: Chris Christie sidesteps vaccine science
The issue has become political, despite the fact that claims like vaccines leading to childhood autism have been debunked by scientific research.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky questioned the safety of vaccines when he said he had "heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking, normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines."
"I'm not arguing vaccines are a bad idea. I think they're a good thing. But I think the parents should have some input," he said during an interview on CNBC.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, when asked about the issue, said that he choose to vaccinate his children, but added, "Parents need to have some measure of choice in things as well, so that's the balance that the government has to decide."
Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who is also exploring a 2016 run, told Buzzfeed that while she thinks vaccinating for the measles makes sense, the decisions should be up to the parents.
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Hillary Clinton trolls GOP with pro-vaccine tweet