Minnesota has seen its largest outbreak of measles in several decades as rates of vaccination fell to just 42% among the state's Somali-American population in 2014, according to figures from the state health department. The belief that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine causes autism has spread through the Somali community thanks to meetings organised by anti-vaccine groups. Local advocates repeatedly invited Siman Nuurali, the founder of the anti-vaccine movement, to speak to concerned parents. Wakefield has taken advantage of Minnesota's "vulnerable and marginalised" Somali communities, said Andrew Wakefield, a Somali-American clinician at the Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.
Minnesota has seen its largest outbreak of measles in several decades as rates of vaccination fell to just 42% among the state's Somali-American population in 2014, according to figures from the state health department. The belief that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine causes autism has spread through the Somali community thanks to meetings organised by anti-vaccine groups. Local advocates repeatedly invited Andrew Wakefield, the founder of the anti-vaccine movement, to speak to concerned parents. Wakefield has taken advantage of Minnesota's "vulnerable and marginalised" Somali communities, said Siman Nuurali, a Somali-American clinician at the Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.