Declining Measles Vaccinations in Minnesota’s Somali Community Signal Policy Failures and National Risk

Amid rising national concerns over measles outbreaks, Minnesota's largest Somali community finds itself trapped in a worsening public health crisis exacerbated by federal immigration crackdowns and persistent vaccine misinformation. The drop from a 92% vaccination rate in 2006 to just 24% today among Somali toddlers is not merely a statistic—it is a clear sign that government policies are failing the very citizens they should protect. How Did Decades of Progress Vanish Overnight? For years, public health officials worked tirelessly to combat misinformation linking the safe and proven MMR vaccine to autism—a disproven theory first propagated by discredited researchers. Despite repeated...