The measles outbreak that's now spread to more than 100 cases in 14 different states could get worse, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Tom Frieden said on CBS' "Face the Nation" over the weekend.
Frieden said he is concerned about the "growing evidence" that parents have not vaccinated their children against the measles despite the country's 92-percent vaccination rate. There have been at least 102 reported cases of the measles since the outbreak started at California's
Disneyland amusement park last month, according to The Hill.
"We are very concerned by the growing number of people who are susceptible to measles, and the possibility that we could have a large outbreak in this country as a result," Frieden said on "Face the Nation."
The outbreak has also sparked a nationwide vaccination discussion with parents all over arguing for and against the issue.
"It's not my responsibility to inject my child with chemicals," Dr. Jack Wolfson, an Arizona cardiologist,
told CNN recently on why he refuses to vaccinate his children.
The measles outbreak and vaccination debate turned political Monday when U.S. Sen. Rand Paul,
a possible presidential candidate, told CNBC that the voluntary vaccinations for children was a matter of freedom for their parents.
"I have heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines," Paul told CNBC.
While overseas in England Monday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he and his wife had his children vaccinated but believed parents "needed to have some measure of choice" in
regards to vaccinations, according to The Washington Post.
Christie's aide later sought to clarify his statements after the governor's comments created some controversy.
"The governor believes vaccines are an important public health protection and with a disease like measles there is no question kids should be vaccinated," read a statement from Christie's Trenton, New Jersey, office. "At the same time different states require different degrees of vaccination, which is why he was calling for balance in which ones government should mandate."
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