In minnesota there are currently 48 confirmed measles cases. Of these cases, 46 are in children 10 and younger, 41 are somali-american, and 45 were never vaccinated against the disease. The outbreak is not related to being of somali origin, it is simply due to lack of vaccination. An anti vaccine group rose in popularity in 2008 when the community noticed more and more somali american children were being diagnosed with autism. Some research by Andrew Wakefield proving that autism was linked to vaccination swept the community, causing vaccination rates to drop to 42%, though the information has since been proven false. In order to combat this outbreak, it is recommended that everyone who has not been vaccinated against measles to do so as soon as possible. In 2000, the CDC had confirmed that measles had been eliminated from the united states, meaning that all cases since have been brought from abroad.
Due to the vaccine preventing it, measles has nearly disappeared in modern day america. However, over the years, many theories against vaccination have developed, all of which have been proven false. The importance of vaccination cannot be stressed enough; it helps keep people as well as communities healthy and allows money set aside for the enrichment of public health and safety be used in the most efficient ways possible. In the 1950s, polio was a huge concern among children and killed many each year. When a vaccine for polio was licensed in 1960, the disease was soon eradicated from the country just as measles was. Keep vaccinating :)
http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/08/health/measles-minnesota-somali-anti-vaccine-bn/index.html
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