Rand Paul: Most vaccines should be 'voluntary'

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published 2 February 2015

In an interview with conservative talk-show radio host Laura Ingraham on Monday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said that while he's "not anti-vaccine at all," he believes "most of them ought to be voluntary."

Paul, who has a medical degree from Duke University, said he was "annoyed" with the amount of vaccinations doctors wanted to give his children when they were born.

"They wanted them to take hepatitis B in the neonatal nursery. And it's like, that's a sexually transmitted disease, or a blood-borne disease, and I didn't like them getting 10 vaccines at once. So I actually delayed my kids' vaccines, and had them staggered over time," Paul told Ingraham. "I think there are times in which there can be some rules, but for the most part, it ought to be voluntary." Listen to Paul and Ingraham's conversation in the video below. —Meghan DeMaria