Politics

Anti-vaxx politicians under fire as coronavirus spreads – POLITICO

Published

5 years ago

March 21, 2020

.cms-textAlign-lefttext-align:left;.cms-textAlign-centertext-align:center;.cms-textAlign-righttext-align:right;.cms-magazineStyles-smallCapsfont-variant:small-caps;

David Zuckerman, the lieutenant governor of Vermont, is an eccentric longtime figure in state politics — a ponytail-sporting organic farmer and Bernie Sanders protege who has proudly fought against government-mandated vaccinations.

But the arrival of the coronavirus has suddenly put Zuckerman on the defensive in his campaign for governor this year: Amid the worsening pandemic, one of his top Democratic opponents is calling out his anti-vaxxer views as dangerous, and attempting to make them politically toxic.

“In moments like this, we see just how critical it is that we support vaccines and make them as available as possible,” said Rebecca Holcombe, the state’s former education secretary who is challenging Zuckerman for the Democratic nomination in the August primary to take on popular Republican incumbent Gov. Phil Scott. “It’s scary that anyone in public office or seeking public office would cast doubt about the value of vaccines. It’s unbelievable this is even up for debate.”

Zuckerman shot back that Holcombe is trying to use a public health crisis to score political points.

“The fact that any political campaign is trying to use this moment for political opportunism is unconscionable,” he told POLITICO. “Right now, my primary focus is to disseminate important health information about the virus and how to keep Vermonters, their families and our community safe…When the COVID-19 vaccine is available for the coronavirus it should be free for all and universally accessible.”

The fight in Vermont’s Democratic gubernatorial primary sets up a larger test of how mainstream the “anti-vaxxer” movement has become on the left, and whether the coronavirus pandemic could make it politically untenable even in liberal bastions.

Anti-vaccine advocacy is a growing force in American politics and around the globe as formerly fringe activists have developed a wide reach across social media platforms. Other candidates who oppose mandatory vaccinations are running for office, and some are winning, with support from large and well-funded advocacy groups.

Recently-ousted Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin has said that mandatory vaccines are un-American. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has repeatedly said parents should be able to decide whether or not to vaccinate their children. With backing by the group Texans for Vaccine Choice as well as Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, libertarian Susanna Dokupil is making another run for the state legislature, primarying one of the most vocally pro-vaccine Republicans in Austin.

But the movement has had even more success in blocking pro-vaccine legislation, defeating efforts in New Jersey, California and other states that would have eliminated exemptions to immunization.

Zuckerman, 48, has faced fierce criticism from Republican opponents in past races for his position on vaccinations, yet still won. He is seen as the frontrunner in an August primary for the Democratic nomination, though Scott is favored to win reelection. But Holcombe is betting that the anxiety surrounding coronavirus will make the issue more salient and perhaps will force a reckoning with the anti-vaxx left. That movement includes several high-profile celebrities along with former presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, a vocal skeptic of mandatory vaccinations, campaigned for Sanders after she dropped out of the race.

Last year, the World Health Organization labeled what it called “vaccine hesitancy” one of the top 10 threats to global health, citing a 30% increase in measles cases worldwide. Vaccine skepticism is often tied to populist political movements on the right and the left. It’s part of a bigger surge of anti-establishment anger around the world — including in the U.S., where less than half the population gets vaccinated against the seasonal flu, which has killed tens of thousands in the past year alone.

Despite past blowback for his positions, Zuckerman has remained firm in his opposition to mandatory vaccinations. He was called a “hero” by the co-founder of a Vermont “vaccine choice” group during his 2016 bid for lieutenant governor.

In 2015, while serving in the state Senate, Zuckerman strongly opposed a bill that repealed the “philosophical exemption” to vaccinations which ultimately passed. And in a 2018 debate while running for reelection, he defended his past positions by arguing the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has financial connections with the pharmaceutical industry that made him skeptical of its recommendations.

“The CDC’s infectious disease control board actually has a number of conflicts of interests,” he argued. “And so yes, like many, I do sometimes question when government agencies are a bit too infused with corporate influence with respect to some of the outcomes and decisions they make.”

Yet Zuckerman has thrived politically, and some Vermont Democratic officials speculate he could someday succeed Sanders, a longtime ally, in the Senate.

Sanders’ presidential campaign declined to comment on Zuckerman, but one aide noted that Sanders supports mandatory vaccinations with “very limited exceptions.” The aide said “there are some health exceptions“ but declined to provide further details on which exceptions he supports.

Many in the so-called “anti-vaxxer” community have tried in recent years to make their position more politically palatable by arguing that while they believe vaccines are effective, they are opposed to the government requiring them. Zuckerman has taken a similar messaging approach. In the 2018 debate, Zuckerman said “the science behind vaccines is sound, I think vaccines do good for our communities, my daughter is vaccinated. But it’s a question of whether government should be forcing that onto individuals.”

Public health experts say such arguments put vulnerable people at risk. Even before the recent coronavirus pandemic, several states had been moving to eliminate religious and other exemptions for childhood vaccinations, as measles and other diseases have resurged in recent years.

“That’s a dangerous message, that everyone should decide for themselves,” said Lois Privor-Dumm, a senior researcher on global vaccine policy at Johns Hopkins University. “If [people who forego vaccines] want to keep themselves quarantined all the time, that’s one thing. But that’s not what happens in life. So it’s not appropriate for candidates to go against all the public health experts out there.”

While campaigning in 2016 the Republican primary, Donald Trump also argued without evidence there is a correlation between vaccines and autism, a position which drew rebuke from the medical and scientific community as well as fellow candidate Ben Carson, a brain surgeon who now serves as his secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

As president, however, Trump shifted his position. In response to a number of Measles outbreaks in 2019, Trump told parents that their children “have to get the shots. The vaccinations are so important.”

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Source link

Politics

‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

Published

2 days ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

Source link

Politics

Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

Published

2 days ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

Source link

Politics

Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

Published

3 days ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

Source link