Everyone has that friend who seems to say the worst things at the wrong moment.

The Republican party has a friend like that, her name is Michele Bachmann. The presidential candidate who has become infamous for her gaffs.

Most recently, at the Republican debate last week Bachmann boldly asserted that the government shouldn’t push a vaccine for the human papillomavirus on young girls. HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer.

She called the vaccine dangerous. Her rebuttal was directed at Gov. Rick Perry who has a policy mandating the vaccination to young women in his home state of Texas.

Candidates are certainly free to stand up and give their opinions. In this case, Bachmann’s comments may have done serious damage. Implying a vaccine is dangerous is a bold statement that would scare any concerned parent.

The New York Times reports that parent’s fears can set back vaccination rates by as much as three years. With Bachmann making wildly inaccurate and unverified statements about the vaccine’s “danger” she may have succeeded in doing just that.

Vaccination rates for diseases like measles tend to climb quickly when parents think their children are in danger. However, with HPV it is hard to assess any danger. The cancer caused by HPV does not usually manifest for years 20 years after infection.

Who would have thought talking points in a presidential debate could actually affect people?