I respectfully disagree with the framing of the Amish as the problem. I’ve worked with Amish communities (they are not monolithic btw) and few if any are “strictly religiously opposed” to vaccinations. In fact, when there are outbreaks, Amish religious leaders often work with health departments to facilitate vaccination drives. What we are seeing now is that the longtime protection afforded to undervaccinated Amish communities via broader herd immunity has eroded, under constant misinformation and policy attacks. The Amish are being disproportionately hard hit, but:
a) the behavior change isn’t in the Amish, but the non Amish, and
b) When faced with an outbreak, the Amish are in many cases MORE likely to accept vaccines, than non Amish who are vaccine resistant.
The majority of the measles cases in PA and SC are among those who don’t vaccinate due to strict religious beliefs (Amish, Slavic etc).
That fact isn’t mentioned often but the data is public and very easy to find.
The measles vaccine works .. but since some communities observe strict religious exemptions it brings up a good question: what to do about it?
Thoughts?