Religion and Vaccines

The latest front on the religious exemption from vaccines is occurring in the Amish community in Minnesota.  Recently several cases of polio have been confirmed and the community is divided over the proper reponse - vaccine or trust in God.  Here is the Associated Press report,

About two dozen Amish households dot the hillsides in central Minnesota's rolling farm country. On Thursday, state health officials announced the four polio infections — the first known cases in the United States in five years.

The Amish community — it has no official name — has seen a flurry of visitors from the state Health Department after three siblings under 16 were diagnosed. Two weeks earlier, an infant from the community had been diagnosed with polio, and state doctors expect more cases to turn up. None of the four have developed symptoms, and health officials say most polio cases do not result in paralysis. But they have urged members of the community to be immunized as soon as possible to reduce the chances the virus will spread. Only unvaccinated people are at risk.

"The doctors were here to talk to us," said Susie Borntreger, a young Amish mother who was hunting down snakes with a hoe in her yard Friday. "They talked with my husband. They told us we should think about the vaccine." The Borntregers decided to vaccinate their two sons, aged 2 and 1. But that decision is not universal. Some Amish families here don't trust vaccinations. Borntreger was vague when asked to explain her family's thinking, saying the decision was made by her husband. "Some people are very open, some people want to think about it, some people just say no," said Harry Hull, the state epidemiologist.

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