Texas measles outbreak shows the effects of vaccine exemptions
Measles had struck this West Texas town, sickening dozens of children, but at the Community Church of Seminole, nearly 400 congregants gathered for a Sunday service. Sitting elbow-to-elbow, they filled the pews, siblings in matching button-down shirts and dresses, little girls’ hair tied neatly into pink bows. Fathers shushed babbling toddlers as their wives snuck out to change infants' diapers. A little girl in this mostly Mennonite congregation was among those who’d fallen ill with the highly contagious respiratory disease, senior pastor David Klassen said — but she’s doing fine, and she happily played through her quarantine. He's heard that at least two Mennonite schools shut down for a bit to disinfect.
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Mistrust in vaccines and public health has spread like the measles in West Texas.
A person with a confirmed case of measles was quickly hospitalized and isolated in a Tucson …
