The silencing of political campaigns because of the coronavirus crisis was broken last week with Rebecca Holcombe, the former education secretary, criticizing her Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, for his views on vaccinations.
In a Politico article published Saturday, Holcombe said Zuckerman’s stance on vaccination could be dangerous, especially during a time when Vermont is in a state of emergency as the coronavirus spreads.
“In moments like this, we see just how critical it is that we support vaccines and make them as available as possible,” Holcombe told Politico. “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 dismissed the criticism and charged Holcombe with exploiting the crisis to score political points.
“The fact that any political campaign is trying to use this moment for political opportunism is unconscionable,” Zuckerman told Politico.
Seven Days, the Burlington-based alt-weekly, followed up on the story Sunday looking into how Zuckerman’s record drew the interest of Politico.
Cameron Russell, Holcombe’s campaign manager, sent out a press release with links to both pieces.
“Both stories detail the lieutenant governor’s extensive history of questioning the science of vaccines, putting the health and well-being of Vermonters at risk,” Russell said.
In an interview Monday, Zuckerman said he would support the distribution of a coronavirus vaccine.
“As soon as a vaccine is available for COVID-19 I will follow whatever recommendations are out there,” Zuckerman said. “Those at high risk should receive it and then the rest of us should get it as soon as supplies are available.”
Zuckerman said his position on vaccines has long been that the “science is solid,” adding that he also said he supports the current state statutes on vaccination, which include a medical and religious exemption.
Zuckerman is under fire because he opposed efforts in 2015 to remove the philosophical exemption — Vermont was the first state to repeal a personal belief exemption.
During the 2015 debate on the Senate floor, Zuckerman said the science of whether vaccinations are safe is “disputed” and that lawmakers were beginning on the slippery slope of legislating what is done to an individual’s body, according to a Seven Days report at the time.
Zuckerman also put forward an amendment — which failed — to keep the philosophical exemption in place until the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “determines that there is a reliable DNA swab test to check for the genetic predisposition to an allergic reaction to various immunization ingredients.”
Current Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe, D/P-Chittenden along with Sens. Jane Kitchel, D-Caledonia; Joe Benning, R-Caledonia; Anthony Pollina, P/D-Washington; and Ann Cumings, D-Washington, were among the 10 senators who joined Zuckerman in opposing the removal of the philosophical exemption — however the reasons for doing so varied.
During Zuckerman’s first run for lieutenant governor, his Republican opponent, Sen. Randy Brock, R-Franklin, used the Senate floor drama in his campaign ads, claiming Zuckerman discourages the use of vaccines that could expose children in Vermont to preventable diseases.
In 2018, during his successful reelection bid, Zuckerman was asked to clarify his stance on vaccines during a candidates’ forum.
“The science behind vaccine is sound, I think vaccines do good for our communities, my daughter is vaccinated, but it’s a question of whether or not government should be forcing that onto individuals which is different than a scientific question,” Zuckerman said.
During that discussion, Zuckerman added that his skepticism has more to do with distrust of the pharmaceutical industry than of vaccines.
“The same industry that has brought us many other drugs that we’ve learned later — they claim were not harmful — but they’ve made themselves a lot of money and have given us things like our opioid addiction problem and others,” he said.
A day after the forum, Republican Don Turner, who was running against Zuckerman, released a statement attacking his opponent for this position and called the lieutenant governor’s assertion that the pharmaceutical industry may be putting profit over public health as false.
“If Lieutenant Governor Zuckerman has any demonstrable proof that the CDC’s decisions or actions are influenced by the pharmaceutical industry, he should disclose that evidence,” Turner said. “I would call on Lieutenant Governor Zuckerman to retract his remarks regarding the integrity of the CDC and vaccines.”
Zuckerman went on to win reelection with 58% of the vote while Turner received 40%.
Holcombe told VTDigger Monday that even if Zuckerman believes in the science of vaccines, his distrust of institutions is worrying to her.
“I think what I find concerning is he cast doubt on the value of some of these vaccines as public health tools and that should not be questioned,” she said.
Holcombe explained that she spent time growing up in Afghanistan and that the country struggles with measles outbreaks.
“We just can’t cast doubt on public health tools that have very strong research behind them and a history of keeping people healthy,” Holcombe said.
Asked whether a state of an emergency was the proper time to draw this contrast with Zuckerman, Holcombe said discussing political public health issues in a time of crisis was important because of the impact the coronavirus is having on hospital resources and capacity.
“We need to make sure we’re not tying up space with preventable diseases,” Holcombe said. “It’s relevant now because we need to do everything we can to stop preventable disease.”
Prior to the Politico story, rumblings about Zuckerman’s views on vaccination had surfaced on Twitter when Burlington Democratic Party vice chair Joanna Grossman claimed the lieutenant governor didn’t answer her question during a town hall on March 13.
“We’re all about flattening the curve,” Grossman said of making sure the coronavirus does not continue to spread. “Isn’t one of the key ways to do that to prevent flu and other infections by getting vaccines?”
“Follow up question: When the CDC is able to create and distribute a vaccine for COVID-19, will you encourage or discourage Vermonters from getting vaccinated?” she added.
Then on March 16, the Chittenden GOP tweeted out a screen shot of Zuckerman saying that he has felt Vermont’s response to the coronavirus has been a “few days behind and that we should be taking stronger measures faster.”
“.@DavidZuckermanVT the very last person anybody should be listening to during a public crisis is someone with your history of appeasing anti-vaxxers. Your views on vaccines are disqualifying,” the Chittenden GOP responded.
The Vermont Republican Party’s Twitter account quickly retweeted the Chittenden group’s message.
After the Politico story broke, Grossman wrote on Facebook that people should start a texting-campaign calling Zuckerman “anti-vaccine” and highlighting how Holcombe differs from the lieutenant governor, Seven Days reported on March 22.
Russell told VTDigger Monday that Holcombe and the campaign plan to make vaccination a crucial point of contrast with Zuckerman as the race continues into the summer.
“We would welcome a debate on the issue,” Russell said.
Zuckerman responded that he welcomes the dialogue.
“I will always debate and discuss any issue when the campaigning time is appropriate,” he said.
“Right now I am going to focus on the coronavirus pandemic and in the campaign I am going to focus on my work in the state and what makes me qualified for governor,” Zuckerman said. “Every campaign is allowed to do as it so chooses.”
