Two readers sent this story from Minneapolis today.
From MSNBC:
MINNEAPOLIS — Three more young children in Minneapolis have contracted measles, including two who were not immunized because of fears about the safety of the vaccine.
The Minnesota Department of Health is working closely with Hennepin County Public Health staff in their investigation. The three new cases were reported in children between 23 months and 4 years of age, living in Minneapolis who likely acquired their infections in Minneapolis.
The children became ill between March 1 and March 9. Two of the three new cases were hospitalized, and all are recovering.
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Two of the four children are Somali. They had not been vaccinated because of parental concerns about the standard vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). In recent years, MMR vaccination has dropped in the Somali community because of concerns about safety.
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“It is every parent’s responsibility to vaccinate their children for measles, mumps and rubella to protect them against these deadly diseases,” said Dr. Abdirahman D. Mohamed, Chief of Staff of Axis Medical Center, Minneapolis. Dr. Mohamed said he knows of four unvaccinated Somali children (two in the U.S. and two in other countries) who have died from measles. He stressed the importance of reaching the community with the message that vaccination is important.
They don’t say it in this story but Somalis got the erroneous idea that American medical requirements—vaccinations—were responsible for an epidemic of autism in Minneapolis among Somali children. However, studies on autism are increasingly pointing a finger to a Vitamin D deficiency in northern cities exacerbated by dark skinned women covering themselves from head to toe and thus not getting any sunshine during pregnancy. I told you about the latest research here.
And, you wonder why our health care costs are skyrocketing……