Natalie Allison at the Nashville Tennessean
A day after U.S. Rep.-elect Mark Green drew national attention for his remarks suggesting a possible link between vaccines and autism, another Tennessee Republican in Washington took a stand for the public health benefits of vaccinations.
"Vaccines take deadly, awful, ravaging diseases from horror to history," U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander tweeted Thursday.
The senator's remarks were followed by a terse 30-word statement from the Tennessee Department of Health later in the day Thursday, beginning with the phrase "Vaccines do not cause autism."
Alexander, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, tweeted a quote from a video he shared of him previously speaking about vaccines in the committee.
"Sound science is this," Alexander said in the committee meeting. "Vaccines save lives. They save the lives of people that are vaccinated. They protect the lives of the vulnerable around them, like infants and those who are ill."
Green, a Republican state senator from Clarksville who is also a physician, will be sworn-in to the U.S. House of Representatives, his first term, Jan. 3.
Tennessee Department of Health Statement on Immunizations Thursday, December 13, 2018 | 04:29pm NASHVILLE – Vaccines do not cause autism. Vaccines save lives. The Tennessee Department of Health welcomes discussion with Tennessee clinicians and scientists who would like to examine the evidence on this topic. ###Vaccines take deadly, awful, ravaging diseases from horror to history.— Sen. Lamar Alexander (@SenAlexander) December 13, 2018
Vaccines save lives. pic.twitter.com/kewCNQTslM
