Bachmann, Perry embroiled in HPV fracas

Sep 16 2011

Since Monday night's GOP primary debate, the two presidential hopefuls continue to be the targets of discussion and coverage regarding both the style and substance of the HPV vaccine issue.

ABC News: Michele Bachmann's HPV Vaccine Safety and 'Retardation' Comments Misleading, Doctors Say
The medical community issued swift criticism Tuesday after Rep. Michele Bachmann dragged the safety of the vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV) into the political spotlight, reigniting the controversy over the risks and necessity of vaccinating children. "The American Academy of Pediatrics would like to correct false statements made in the Republican presidential campaign that HPV vaccine is dangerous and can cause mental retardation," the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. "There is absolutely no scientific validity to this statement. Since the vaccine has been introduced, more than 35 million doses have been administered, and it has an excellent safety record" (Gann, 9/14).

Des Moines Register: Michele Bachmann's HPV Vaccine Claims Rejected By Medical Community
A winning political point in Monday's Republican presidential candidate debate is also a losing scientific argument for Michele Bachmann. ... A leading Iowa social conservative thinks Bachmann's points are likely to resonate with Iowa conservatives. But a political scientist also suggested her successful punch might be weakened by questions about the accuracy of her follow-up statements (Noble, 9/14). 

CBS News: Perry Hits Bachmann On HPV Claim
After taking heat from Rep. Michele Bachmann for mandating that Texas schoolgirls receive vaccinations against human papillomavirus, Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday hit back at his rival for the Republican nomination, saying that her suggestion the vaccine could be linked to mental retardation if groundless (Kaplan,9/14). 

McClatchy: Perry's 2007 HPV Order A Hot Topic For His Critics
Four years ago, Texas Gov. Rick Perry was dealt a rare political defeat. The Republican's controversial order to require young girls to be vaccinated against a virus that causes cervical cancer was overturned by the Legislature. Perry grudgingly accepted the loss. While the HPV mandate was largely left for dead as a matter of state policy, it has remained very much alive politically. Democratic and Republican opponents have hammered Perry on the issue ever since, and now Perry's rivals in the presidential race believe that they have found an opening (Batheja, 9/14).

Politico: Rollins Says Bachmann's HPV 'Retardation' Comment Was Off
Ed Rollins, who recently stepped back as Michele Bachmann's campaign manager, had some strong words about her assertion that the HPV vaccine Rick Perry mandated in Texas was linked to "mental retardation:" "She made a mistake. The quicker she admits she made a mistake and moves on, the better she is," Rollins said in an interview on MSNBC on Wednesday (Haberman, 9/14).

Politico: Rick Perry Knocks Michele Bachmann's HPV Story
Rick Perry criticized Michele Bachmann Wednesday for relaying the story of a woman who claimed her daughter became mentally retarded after being vaccinated against HPV. "I think that was a statement that had no truth in it, no basis in fact," Perry said of the comments Bachmann made in a TV interview following the CNN/Tea Party Express debate. Bachmann put the Texas governor on the defensive on Monday over his executive order forcing pre-teen girls to be immunized against a disease that can cause cervical cancer. But she has since drawn fire from across the political spectrum for the story she's told since about the mother who approached her in tears after the Tampa debate. Perry, speaking to reporters after a fundraiser here for the Virginia Republican Party, reiterated that he had made a mistake in 2007 when he issued the order (Martin, 9/14).

Minneapolis Star Tribune: Bachmann's Vaccine Claim Draws Fire
What looked initially like a winning debate point for Michele Bachmann has prompted a chorus of protest against the Minnesota Republican, with some of the most scathing comments coming from her fellow conservatives. Now a University of Minnesota scientist and his former boss are offering more than $10,000 in rewards if the story Bachmann told after Monday's GOP presidential debate in Tampa about a vaccine causing mental disability can be verified. Bachmann sparked the controversy by telling Fox News and "The Today Show" that a woman came up to her after the debate and said that her daughter's mental disability had been caused by a vaccination against HPV, the human papilloma virus (Herb, 9/14).

The Associated Press: Bachmann Shot At Perry Over Vaccine Stings Her Too
Republican Michele Bachmann is feeling the sting of a presidential campaign jab gone awry, while the target is using the flap to shore up his pro-life credentials. … Bachmann criticized Perry, the Texas governor, for signing an order requiring middle-school girls in his state to get vaccinated against the human papillomavirus, known as HPV. But in the following days, she linked the vaccine to mental retardation. Medical experts roundly disputed the claim, calling it irresponsible and dangerous (Bakst, 9/14).