Remember the Measles Epidemic on Samoa?

Do you remember the measles epidemic on Samoa?

Seems like some folks need to be reminded about what happened…

Remember the Measles Epidemic on Samoa

So what happened?

Tragically, two young children died very shortly after getting their routine MMR vaccines in July 2018.

The cause?

A mixup between the vaccine diluent and a powerful anesthetic.

Afterwards, even though the MMR vaccine was not the cause of the deaths, vaccination rates dropped in Samoa. In fact, there was a hold on MMR vaccinations for nine months!

Visits from anti-vaccine folks certainly didn’t help things either.

“The country had already been a target for anti-vaxxers, but the MMR incident provided fertile ground for their messages to take hold.”

‘These babies should not have died’: How the measles outbreak took hold in Samoa

And then, predictably, Samoa had a measles outbreak.

An outbreak that soon triggered an emergency declaration as it turned into an epidemic.

An epidemic that:

• lasted three and a half months before it was finally controlled
• got over 5,700 people sick
• hospitalized 1,868 people
• killed 83 people, almost all children under the age of 5 years
• cost Samoa at least $22 million

An epidemic that certainly wasn’t man-made, unless you count the visit from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr and his contribution to scaring folks away from getting vaccinated and protected.

Remember Samoa when you think about skipping or delaying your vaccines…

More on Remembering Measles Outbreaks

• The Timeline of the Measles Epidemic in Samoa
• The Tragedy in Samoa Was Not Caused by the MMR Vaccine
• Is the Samoan Measles Outbreak Fabricated?
• Remembering the Measles Epidemics of the 1990s
• Remembering When Everyone Had Measles
• In the aftermath: the legacy of measles in Samoa
• Measles epidemic in Samoa and other Pacific islands
• ‘These babies should not have died’: How the measles outbreak took hold in Samoa
• Budget reveals measles’ $22 million impact
• Antivaccine activists and the deadly measles outbreak in Samoa
• Samoa measles epidemic – vaccine deniers causing harm to children
• Antivaxxer Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. writes to Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi about measles in the middle of an outbreak
• Measles in Samoa: Thank the anti-vaccination lobby
• Popular Facebook meme misleadingly suggests that the measles vaccine caused 2019 Samoa measles outbreak

Last Updated on April 12, 2024