Public Health Officials Move To Protect Native Americans Against Measles Outbreak
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Native American tribes and health organizations are responding to concerns about low measles vaccination rates and patients’ difficulty getting care as an outbreak of the disease spreads around the country.
They’re hosting mobile vaccine clinics, running social media campaigns, making sure health providers are vaccinated, reaching out to the parents of unvaccinated children, and hosting online training sessions.
The push to ensure Native American communities are protected from the virus comes as the U.S. is experiencing its worst measles outbreak since 1992. The South Dakota health department announced in early June that the first case in the state was an adult from the Rapid City area.
Cassandra Palmier and her son, Makaito Cuny, have benefited from this outreach. Palmier jumped at the opportunity to get her 5-year-old vaccinated after learning that a mobile clinic...
