Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Disneyland Measles Outbreak Triggers Discussion, Criticism Of Anti-Vaccination Movement
The Washington Post: The Disneyland Measles Outbreak And The Disgraced Doctor Who Whipped Up Vaccination Fear
Just before 7 p.m. last Thursday, as the Disneyland measles outbreak was emerging, the Los Angeles Times published an outraged editorial. It didn’t blame Disneyland, where the outbreak originated before going on to infect 70 people across six states. Nor did it blame any public agency. Instead, it took aim at a buoyant movement that won’t “get over its ignorant and self-absorbed rejection of science.” The faction was the anti-vaccine movement — its holy text a retracted medical study, its high priest a disgraced British doctor named Andrew Wakefield. “The prospect of a new measles epidemic is disturbing,” the editorial said. “So is the knowledge that many ill-informed people accept a thoroughly discredited and retracted study in the journal Lancet that purported to associate vaccination with autism. (McCoy, 1/23)
The Washington Post's Wonkblog: Vaccine Deniers Stick Together. And Now They’re Ruining Things For Everyone
The rash of measles cases that started in Disneyland last month has now become one of the worst outbreaks of the diseases in California in the past 15 years. What started with a handful of cases has now grown to 62 confirmed cases across the state — and other cases have been reported in Colorado, Oregon, Utah, Washington state and Mexico. (Millman, 1/22)
Los Angeles Times: Fewer California Parents Refuse To Vaccinate Children
The number of California parents who cite personal beliefs in refusing to vaccinate their kindergartners dropped in 2014 for the first time in a dozen years, according to a Times data analysis. The shift came amid rising alarm over the number of children being exempted from immunization, which prompted new campaigns to reverse the trend. A state law that went into effect last year made it more difficult for parents to excuse kindergartners from vaccines. Instead of signing a form, parents now must get a signature from a healthcare provider saying that they have been counseled on the risks of rejecting vaccinations. Alternatively, they can declare they are followers of a religion that prohibits them from seeking medical advice from healthcare practitioners. (Xia, Lin and Poindexter, 1/22)
