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Bob Stefanowski, the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Connecticut, expressed skepticism about vaccines during a summer campaign event, according to video cited in a Monday night report from NBC News. At a Quiet Corner Tea Party campaign event, an audience member asked Stefanowski about his position on mandatory vaccines for children attending public school. “Do you think the state should dictate [immunizations] or should local [Boards of Education] handle that?” the individual asked, according to video provided by a source working for a Connecticut democratic campaign. “I think it depends on the vaccination,” Stefanowski responded. “We shouldn’t be dumping a lot of drugs into kids for no reason.”
Stefanowski did say, however, that all three of his daughters had been vaccinated. He also refused to commit to changing current state law, which mandates vaccinations for common ailments before children begin school. “I’d want to see it,” Stefanowski said. “I’m really not dodging your question. A hypothetical bill that I’ve never seen, it’s hard for me to say.” A spokesman for Stefanowski told NBC that “Bob’s position here is in line with the law. While he believes that the best practice is to vaccinate your children, he does not believe that the government should be able to legally force you to do so.”