Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Minnesota and measles: Andrew Wakefield targets refugees

Sean Gallagher, MD
Physician
August 20, 2017
Share
Tweet
Share

I had the pleasure of traveling to Rochester, Minnesota for a wedding this summer.  Minnesota is home to more people from Somalia than any other state. My home of Columbus, Ohio is also a hub for people from Somalia.  As a pediatric resident, I take care of Somali-American children and work with Somali American healthcare providers every day.

It was surreal, then, to set foot in a state recovering from a measles outbreak with more cases than the entire country saw last year.  I was only ninety minutes away from Minneapolis, the center of the outbreak.  Former physician and academic fraud Andrew Wakefield traveled there several times in 2011 amidst an earlier measles outbreak at the invitation of local anti-vaccination proponents.

At that time, Somali-American children were being diagnosed with a condition that their parents weren’t overly familiar with: autism spectrum disorder.  Autism has no equivalent word in Somali.  Like any concerned parents would do, they set out to determine the cause.

Their friendly neighborhood anti-vaccination advocates were all too happy to weigh in.  And, they convinced the community that Mr. Wakefield could tell them more.  We all know what happened next: this year measles struck Minnesota affecting 79 people.  74 of the victims were children and 71 were unvaccinated. Roughly one-quarter were hospitalized to the tune of over $500,000. The cost to immunize the 71 unvaccinated pales in comparison: $2,923.78 to $9,518.26.  Surprising no one, Mr. Wakefield said of the outbreak, “I don’t feel responsible at all.”

Mr. Wakefield has the capacity to understand that there’s no science to what he’s selling.  One would think he’d empathize with his fellow immigrant, then, and spare them his snake oil sales pitch.  At roughly 15 percent, Somalia’s current under-5 mortality rate ranks 4th in the world.  Its civil war has raged, in one phase or another, for over 30 years.  Their status as refugees made them vulnerable.  That didn’t spare them from being targeted by Mr. Wakefield and his anti-vaccination acolytes.

Although the measles outbreak in Minnesota is winding down, Mr. Wakefield continues to operate in the U.S.  Only five years separated his visit to Minnesota and the start of the measles outbreak there.  Who knows what communities he’s met with since?  The swell of immunization advocacy on social media in response to this outbreak has been fantastic.  It shouldn’t abate as the Minnesota outbreak dies down.  Because, while a disease outbreak is news, lack of one isn’t.  Or, as the comedian John Oliver put it: “After all, nobody is going on Facebook to post “Didn’t get polio again today! SO LIT!”  It’s up to us as members of the medical community to continue shining a light on the activities of Mr. Wakefield and anti-vaccination agents nationwide.  Their fictional narrative must be routinely countered with fact.  Somali parents aren’t the only ones who want what’s best for their children.  We have to make sure parents everywhere know the truth about vaccination: It’s safe, effective, and one of the most loving things they can do for their children.

Sean Gallagher is a pediatric resident.  He can be reached on Twitter @TheKidKidDoc​.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Planning for the end of life: What baby Charlie can teach us

August 20, 2017 Kevin 0
…
Next

Online physician reviews: Patients are the ones who will suffer

August 20, 2017 Kevin 104
…

Tagged as: Neurology, Pediatrics, Public Health & Policy

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Planning for the end of life: What baby Charlie can teach us
Next Post >
Online physician reviews: Patients are the ones who will suffer

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Sean Gallagher, MD

  • The non-acceptance of vaccine-hesitant families is a problem in pediatrics

    Sean Gallagher, MD
  • When an anti-vaccination organization convinces a physician to join their ranks

    Sean Gallagher, MD
  • Anonymous anti-vaccination Twitter accounts attacks this pediatrician. He gets louder.

    Sean Gallagher, MD

Related Posts

  • Health care workers should not be targets

    Lori E. Johnson
  • How the stories of refugees affected this medical student

    Weijie Violet Lin
  • How to fix bullying in health care

    Andrew C. Bland, MD
  • 4 small changes to help your practice now

    Andrew Mellin, MD, MBA

More in Physician

  • How subjective likability practices undermine Canada’s health workforce recruitment and retention

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • Why judgment is hurting doctors—and how mindfulness can heal

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • Why evidence-based management may be an effective strategy for stronger health care leadership and equity

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • The gift we keep giving: How medicine demands everything—even our holidays

    Tomi Mitchell, MD
  • From burnout to balance: a neurosurgeon’s bold career redesign

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • Why working in Hawai’i health care isn’t all paradise

    Clayton Foster, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Decoding your medical bill: What those charges really mean

      Cheryl Spang | Finance
    • The emotional first responders of aesthetic medicine

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why testosterone matters more than you think in women’s health

      Andrea Caamano, MD | Conditions
    • A mind to guide the machine: Why physicians must help shape artificial intelligence in medicine

      Shanice Spence-Miller, MD | Tech
    • How subjective likability practices undermine Canada’s health workforce recruitment and retention

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Decoding your medical bill: What those charges really mean

      Cheryl Spang | Finance
    • The emotional first responders of aesthetic medicine

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why testosterone matters more than you think in women’s health

      Andrea Caamano, MD | Conditions
    • A mind to guide the machine: Why physicians must help shape artificial intelligence in medicine

      Shanice Spence-Miller, MD | Tech
    • How subjective likability practices undermine Canada’s health workforce recruitment and retention

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...