April 2017
Hennepin County, Minnesota
After the hospitalization of two infants for what was determined to be measles, the CDC was notified of a potential outbreak. Since the infants were both from the same Somali-American community, there was a deeper investigation into the cause of this disease. If the outbreak sprung up pre-2000, although rare, it would not be so shocking, and easily treated. The problem is, this outbreak happened in May of this year, 2017. Measles had been eradicated from the United States since the early 2000's. Until now.
The Cause
The cause of this outbreak did not stem from general lack of care for children. It is legally required that children under the age of 2 must have the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine before entering into any daycare or preschool, unless the parent is able to provide sufficient medical reasoning as to why their child cannot be vaccinated. However, these Somali-American parents were not vaccinating their children. Why? The anti-vaccination movement. Lynn Bahta, a nurse of the Health Department nurse in Minnesota, commented in the article "Despite Measles Outbreak, Anti-Vaccine Activists in Minnesota Refuse to Back Down" that white, upper-class women had been canvassing the Somali-American residents in the summer, claiming the outbreak was introduced by the health department to convince these parents to vaccinate their children, which according to these women, caused autism. Even though this study has been debunked several times, the anti-vaxxers have been targeting Somali-Americans, and other immigrants for decades, producing a general decline in the number of vaccines given in Hennepin county over the years.
The Response
Once the media got wind of the outbreak and the tenacity of the anti-vaccination groups, there was a large outpouring of support for the parents of the children affected by measles. Not only were the parents put in contact with greater resources for vaccinations, but they were also met with greater community involvement. Imams (religious leaders) in mosques within the county began promoting vaccinations after collaborating with health professionals. The fear that the anti-vaccination groups instilled in the parents was deeply rooted, and created a fear of health professionals. However, when religious leaders began to be adamant about the safety and necessity of vaccinations, the county (which reached a vaccination rate of 42% in 2014) began to see a rise of more than triple the number of vaccinations given in the latter years. The effectiveness of the anti-vaccination movement is undeniably strong, and shows no sign of slowing, however the media response towards the outbreak and movement shows an increase of trust in scientific movements and the overall social conclusions about the necessity of vaccines.
