Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Measles Outbreak In New York Intensifies Long-Smoldering Tensions Between Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Community, Secular Society
The New York Times: An Outbreak Spreads Fear: Of Measles, Of Ultra-Orthodox Jews, Of Anti-Semitism
Erica Wingate was working at a clothing store in town this week when a male customer, with the black hat and sidelocks typically worn by ultra-Orthodox Jews, started coughing. Another shopper standing next to him suddenly dropped the item she had been holding and clutched her child. “She was buying something, and she just threw it down,” Ms. Wingate recalled. “She said, ‘Let’s go, let’s go! Jews don’t have shots!’” (Nir and Gold, 3/29)
Seattle Times: Fear, Resentment — And More Demand For Vaccines As One Washington County Grapples With Measles Outbreak
For a solid month, Ashley Matzie took her newborn almost nowhere. Not to the grocery store, or to the park or even for a walk on her block in Camas, Washington, just east of Vancouver. ...As dozens of measles cases broke out in Clark County, totaling 73 by late March and prompting a visit from the U.S. surgeon general, Matzie and her partner took every precaution. As soon as he walked in the door from work, he changed his clothes and washed his hands. (Shapiro, 3/30)
NPR: Mumps Outbreak: MMR Vaccine's Protection Against Mumps Can Fade
A mumps outbreak that began at Philadelphia's Temple University in February has snowballed, with the city's health department now reporting 106 cases associated with the flare-up. University officials say the vast majority of students involved had been immunized previously with the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella. So why are so many still appearing on campus with the mumps' signature swollen cheeks? (Ellis, 3/28)
Cincinnati Enquirer: Boone County Student's Fight Against Chickenpox Vaccine Heads To Court
Boone County Circuit Judge J.R. Schrand will hear arguments from a senior at Assumption Academy in Walton who objected to the demand of public health officials for vaccinations against chickenpox when 32 students at his small Catholic school came down with the illness this year. All 50 states require the chickenpox vaccine for school children. (Saker, 3/31)
