{"id":317939,"date":"2026-10-30T23:26:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T23:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/317939\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T23:26:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T23:26:20","slug":"as-a-historic-measles-outbreak-hits-pennsylvania-amish-country-more-show-openness-to-vaccines-butler-eagle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/317939\/","title":{"rendered":"As a historic measles outbreak hits Pennsylvania Amish country, more show openness to vaccines \u2013 Butler Eagle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

A member of the Plain community tends to horses at The Green Dragon Farmers Market and Auction in Ephrata, Pa., on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. Associated Press<\/p>\n

EPHRATA, Pa. \u2014 Amish and Mennonite shoppers in conservative dress mingled with shoppers from the wider public on a recent Friday at a vast outdoor market here, where vendors sold colorful pumpkins and mums, fry pies and squash, sports jerseys and Barbie accessories.<\/p>\n

Such interactions are common in Lancaster County in central Pennsylvania, home to the largest Amish population in the U.S. \u2014 and the epicenter<\/a> of the nation\u2019s worst measles outbreak<\/a> in 35 years. While they avoid many types of civic engagement for religious reasons, the Amish \u2014 like many other groups vulnerable to measles across the nation \u2014 are not truly separate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all interconnected,\u201d said Dr. Diego Hijano of St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital.<\/p>\n

Robust vaccination rates once protected Americans much better.<\/p>\n

But rates among the general public are now falling<\/a>, and rates have long been low among the Amish, creating the perfect conditions for the contagious virus \u2014 officially considered \u201celiminated\u201d from the U.S. since 2000 \u2014 to spread here and beyond.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania has the most U.S. cases, with over 1,350 this year, more than a third in Lancaster County alone<\/a>, according to state figures. That\u2019s a big undercount, community leaders say, since many people with measles never see a doctor.<\/p>\n

The state has recorded three measles-associated deaths in<\/a> Lancaster and two in other counties.<\/p>\n

In Amish country, a measles surge poses questions about vaccine acceptance<\/p>\n

The outbreak has especially hit the \u201cPlain communities\u201d of Amish and conservative Mennonites \u2014 so named for their modest dress and limited use of technology. Vaccination rates, and attitudes about vaccines, range widely. But overall, they are less likely to be vaccinated than the general population, due more to culture and habit than doctrine.<\/p>\n

Many are now showing a new openness to vaccines, while members of the general public are also taking extra precautions.<\/p>\n

All of this has underscored the interconnectedness of Plain and wider \u201cEnglish\u201d populations.<\/p>\n

The Plain People avoid such areas of civic participation as holding public office. Still, they regularly shop and do business with their neighbors in this growing county of half a million people, where an urban core is ringed by suburban subdivisions abutting Amish farms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no way to imagine that this is going to be an isolated community,\u201d said Dr. Anne-Marie Derrico, chief medical officer at the nonprofit Union Community Care. It has clinics in the city of Lancaster and outlying towns, along with a mobile unit operating a \u201cPlain Healthy\u201d outreach to the Amish and to Mennonites.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have Plain patients coming to the city, we have patients in the city who don\u2019t vaccinate, who are going to school, going to other programs with other children,\u201d Derrico said.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania’s measles rates have declined from their September peak, but some doctors expect them to rise as winter brings more indoor gatherings.<\/p>\n

While most cases are mild, measles can cause serious and even fatal complications, such as pneumonia and encephalitis.<\/p>\n

Union has held small-scale vaccine clinics to reach Plain populations, resulting in about 450 measles shots. \u201cThat\u2019s hopefully made a significant impact,\u201d Derrico said.<\/p>\n

Union\u2019s clinics are also offering vaccinations for infants earlier than normally scheduled, as health experts advise in areas experiencing measles outbreaks.<\/p>\n

Lauren and Mason Spence brought their 10-month-old son, Bowen, to a clinic recently to get his first dose of the MMR vaccine, short for measles, mumps and rubella. The \u201cEnglish\u201d family frequently goes to public places, including farmers markets.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s scary,\u201d Lauren Spence said. \u201cIt\u2019s spreading quick.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vaccine views vary among Plain people<\/p>\n

Attitudes toward vaccines in Plain communities have alternately warmed and cooled over time \u2014 most recently cooling in reaction to strict COVID-19<\/a> public health measures, according to community leaders and scholars. The measles outbreak is prompting many to accept the shots while reinforcing vaccine skepticism in others.<\/p>\n

One Amish farmer, Ephraim Zook, still opposes vaccines even after he and his wife nursed their young twins through the illness. \u201cWe just felt that measles is a natural thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A Mennonite market vendor said his largely vaccinated community has had no infections.<\/p>\n

One Plain farmer said he got vaccinated after his adult siblings began getting measles. With vegetables to harvest and tobacco leaves to pick, \u201cI thought, if I get it, I\u2019m going to be done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Most interviewed by the AP asked not to use their names, in keeping with Plain traditions of not calling attention to themselves.<\/p>\n

Those who avoid vaccines usually aren\u2019t driven by ideology, community leaders and experts say.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe overwhelming reason had nothing to do with being against vaccinations,\u201d said Allen Hoover, an Old Order Mennonite and former administrator of the Parochial Medical Center in the town of New Holland. \u201cIt was simply, \u2018Well, we never did before, and we came through all right.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoover said the most effective strategy for medical workers is to encourage vaccination \u2014 not to push it aggressively.<\/p>\n

It takes time for outside professionals to build trust in Plain communities, he said.<\/p>\n

About how long?<\/p>\n

\u201cTwenty years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

One cluster of Amish schools and individuals in New York is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to require their state to allow exemptions to school vaccine requirements on religious grounds, as Pennsylvania and most states do.<\/p>\n

But the wider Amish leadership hasn’t presented this as a religious issue, according to Steve Nolt, director of the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College in Lancaster County.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing in Amish theology or historic documents that you can find that specifically addresses or is opposed to immunization,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

About 45,000 Amish and 6,000 Old Order Mennonites live in and around Lancaster County, according to the Young Center. Many rely on traditional remedies and visit doctors infrequently, Nolt said.<\/p>\n

This year’s outbreak follows ones in 2025 in Mennonite communities in Texas<\/a> and elsewhere across North America.<\/p>\n

Contagious virus is a rising threat to everyone<\/p>\n

Measles spreads easily when people who have it breathe, cough or sneeze, or through contaminated surfaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeasles is really the lion king of infectious diseases when it comes to transmission,\u201d said Michael Osterholm, who directs the University of Minnesota\u2019s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. \u201cNo one in the United States of America who is susceptible to the measles virus, either having not been vaccinated or not having previously had it, should feel safe from measles. No one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The risk grows as vaccination rates decline.<\/p>\n

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 92.4% of U.S. kindergarteners in 2025-26 received the required MMR shots. That\u2019s down from 95.2% in 2019-20.<\/p>\n

\u201cThough Plain communities are an easy and recognizable target, declining childhood vaccination rates in our county are not limited to the Amish,\u201d wrote Berwood Yost, director of the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, in a recent commentary. \u201cKindergarten vaccination rates have declined in every central Pennsylvania county since 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 2022 survey by the center found the vast majority of Mennonite families reported having their children vaccinated, compared to about 3 in 10 Amish families.<\/p>\n

Yost urged the public not to blame the Amish, or any group, for the outbreak. \u201cEvery one of us is susceptible to misinformation and confusing messages,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

Vaccine hesitancy that rose across populations during the pandemic still lingers.<\/p>\n

That’s eroded \u201cherd immunity,\u201d which occurs when enough people in an area have immunity to measles that it no longer spreads easily. Although nothing short of 100% immunity guarantees the virus won\u2019t spread, an outbreak is considered unlikely if a community has a 95% MMR rate.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania\u2019s kindergarten MMR vaccination rate fell to 93.2% last year.<\/p>\n

Lancaster County’s rate is 88%, with rates lower in the county\u2019s religious and other private schools than in public schools, according to an AP review of state data.<\/p>\n

Across the county and state, the percentage of students receiving religious or philosophical exemptions from at least one required vaccination has risen significantly.<\/p>\n

Nolt said some anti-vaccine groups targeted the Amish with their messaging.<\/p>\n

In 2021, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who helped lead the anti-vaccine movement for years, spoke at a Lancaster County fair, alleging the government was trying to force the Amish to vaccinate.<\/p>\n

Now U.S. health secretary, Kennedy recently sparred with Pennsylvania\u2019s Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, over the extent of the outbreak. Further controversy ensued when the county coroner attributed the death of a measles-infected infant to a ruptured spleen, not the disease itself.<\/p>\n

After a decline in trust, some minds are changing<\/p>\n

Lancaster County Commissioner Alice Yoder said public officials should unite behind the message that the vaccine is safe and effective and should encourage people to get it.<\/p>\n

That approach succeeded during Pennsylvania\u2019s last measles outbreak in 1991.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were lines of people in the Plain community that would come and get vaccinated,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Dr. D. Holmes Morton, who founded the Central Pennsylvania Clinic in Mifflin County \u2014 which treats Plain patients with genetic diseases \u2014 said the same is happening now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are having more success at having vaccine days,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, this will keep everyone safer, said Hijano of St. Jude.<\/p>\n

Getting the shot is \u201can act of love to your community,\u201d he said. \u201cYou will get protected yourself. But in truth, you are actually protecting everyone around you.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP\u2019s collaboration<\/a> with The Conversation U.S., with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

The Associated Press\u2019 health and science coverage receives financial support from the AP Fund for Journalism and private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A hay auction at The Green Dragon Farmers Market and Auction in Ephrata, Pa., on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. Associated Press<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A member of the Plain community, center left, sells flowers at The Green Dragon Farmers Market and Auction in Ephrata, Pa., on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. Associated Press<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Doctors work at the nonprofit, Union Community Care clinic, in Lancaster, Pa., on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. Associated Press<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dr. Anne-Marie Derrico, left, chief medical officer at the nonprofit Union Community Care, works on a computer at the clinic in Lancaster, Pa., on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. Associated Press<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Measles, mumps and rubella virus vaccine at Union Community Care clinic in Lancaster, Pa., on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. Associated Press<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Alice Yoder, Lancaster County Commissioner, sits for a portrait in her office in Lancaster, Pa., on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. Associated Press<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A woman from the Plain community rides a scooter in Intercourse, Pa., on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. Associated Press<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A member of the Plain community harvests crops in Intercourse, Pa., on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. Associated Press<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Children from the Plain community play on a trampoline in Intercourse, Pa., on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. Associated Press<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A man from the Plain community harvests crops in Intercourse, Pa., on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A member of the Plain community tends to horses at The Green Dragon Farmers Market and Auction in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317940,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3035,3027,3022,3042,3048,3051,1610,3030,3028,31,3029,3034,3025,3047,3041,3024,3045,3033,3023,3036,182,3049,3039,139,3026,28,30,29,3040,39,3031,3044,3043,3032,3050,3038,3037,3046],"class_list":["post-317939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-bruin","tag-butler","tag-butler-eagle","tag-cabot","tag-callery","tag-cherry-valley","tag-community-news","tag-connoquenessing","tag-cranberry","tag-crime","tag-east-butler","tag-eau-claire","tag-education-news","tag-evans-city","tag-fairview","tag-government-news","tag-harmony","tag-harrisville","tag-high-school-sports-news","tag-karns-city","tag-local-news","tag-mars","tag-mount-chesnut","tag-news","tag-obituaries","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-petrolia","tag-political-news","tag-portersville","tag-sarver","tag-saxonburg","tag-slippery-rock","tag-valencia","tag-west-liberty","tag-west-sunbury","tag-zelienople"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}