The Hall Center for Law & Health Virtual Grand Rounds Summer Series

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Hall Center for Law & Health Virtual Grand Rounds Summer Series Welcome to the Hall Center for Law & Health Virtual Grand Rounds Summer Series June 25, 2020 Professor Nicolas P. Terry, LL.M. Director Hall Center for Law & Health Brittany Kelly, J.D., M.S.W., L.S.W. Associate Director Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @iuhealthlaw Hall Center for Law & Health In order to get CLE credit, we must be able to monitor your participation throughout the duration of today’s lecture. A recording of today’s lecture as well as presentation slides will be posted on the Hall Center Website. • No Call-Ins • Please make sure you are NOT joining us over the phone by calling in. Please tune in via computer or the Zoom App on your phone. • Three Polls • To monitor engagement, there will be three polls administered. Our speaker will alert you when it is time for a poll. The poll will pop up on your screen. You are not being graded on your answer, but rather whether or not you respond. Each poll will stay up for 2 minutes, so please do not miss your chance to answer. • Q&A for Speaker Questions • On the bottom of your screens, you should see the Q&A feature. You can use that to pose questions to our speaker. If you see that someone has asked a question that you are interested in, signify that to us by using the “upvote” feature. At the end of the lecture, our speaker will reserve 10 minutes to answer questions posted there. Please do not use the chat room to post questions for the speaker. • Chat Room for Tech Issues • If you are having technical difficulties, you can place those concerns in the chatroom and we will do our best to assist you. • Full Screen Mode • Our speaker will be sharing her screen so that you can follow along with her power point presentation. I recommend keeping your screen in “full-screen” mode for optimal viewing. Professor Dorit Rubinstein Reiss Dorit Rubinstein Reiss is a Professor of Law at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Increasingly, her research and activities are focused on legal issues related to vaccines, including exemption laws and tort liability related to non-vaccination. She has published law review and peer reviewed articles and many blog posts on legal issues related to vaccines. She received an undergraduate degree in Law and Political Science (1999, Magna cum Laude) from the Faculty of Law in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She received her Ph.D. from the Jurisprudence and Social Policy program in UC Berkeley. She is a member of the Parents Advisory Board of Voices for Vaccines, and active in vaccine advocacy in other ways. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA HASTINGS SCHOOL OF LAW Misinformation that causes Disease Outbreak: What Can We Do? Dorit R. Reiss . Conflict of Interest Statement: •The family owns stock (regular) in GSK. Example: 6 o An anti-vaccine organization shares misinformation. o People are harmed: o An unvaccinated child gets sick and suffers, or an unvaccinated child infects others. o An outbreak imposes costs and harms on the community. o What are the legal options? MMR Rates in Somali Community 7 Outbreaks: 8 • 2011: – 30 months old unvaccinated child, Kenya travel. – 21 cases. 7 too young to vaccinate, 7 unvaccinated by choice. – 14 children hospitalized, 65%, one in ER. • 2017: – 25 months old unvaccinated child, – 75 cases, 95% unvaccinated. – 65 young Somali children, 21 hospitalized. – Median age 21 months. MMR and Autism - 9 Madsen et al, Honda et al, Denmark, 2002, Jain et al, United Japan, 2005, 537,303 children States, 2016, over 300,000 95,727 children children Hviid et al, 2019, Denmark Fombonee et al, 657,461 Smeeth et al, U.K., Canada, 2006, children 2004, 5,763 27.749 children children Mäkelä et al, Finland, 2002, 535,544 children What can we do? 10 Just 11 because you can doesn’t mean you should. Elements of intentional misrepresentation: 12 (1)Material misrepresentation; (2) Knowledge the statement is false/reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity; (3) Intent to induce reliance by the victim; (4)Justifiable reliance by the victim. (5)Pecuniary damages to the victim. Poll 1: 13 • What kind of damages is traditional intentional misrepresentation focused on? (1)Physical. (2)Emotional. (3)Financial. Misrepresentation that risks physical harm: 14 Restatement (Second) of Torts § 310: An actor who makes a misrepresentation is subject to liability to another for physical harm which results from an act done by the other or a third person in reliance upon the truth of the representation, if the actor • (a) intends his statement to induce or should realize that it is likely to induce action by the other, or a third person, which involves an unreasonable risk of physical harm to the other, and (b) knows • (i) that the statement is false, or (ii) that he has not the knowledge which he professes. Public Nuisance 15 • …unreasonable interference with a right common to the general public. • May include the following: – whether the conduct involves a significant interference with the public health, the public safety, the public peace, the public comfort or the public convenience, or – … – whether the conduct is of a continuing nature or has produced a permanent or long lasting effect, and, as the actor knows or has reason to know, has a significant effect upon the public right. Poll 2: 16 • True or false: States have used nuisance suits in public health contexts in the past. 1. True. 2. False. Restatement (Second) s. 311 17 Negligent Misrepresentation Involving Risk Of Physical Harm Or is it? Elements of s. 311: 18 (1)Negligent misrepresentation; (2)Reasonable reliance on the information; (3)[Resulting] Physical harm And: (4) Duty (5) First Amendment limits Issues: 19 Relationship Continuum: 20 Why? Why not? • Expectation of • Reward mass reliance. deceivers. • Scope of liability. • Not directly related to • Fits duty principles. most tort elements. Consider also 21 Typology: Type of speech 22 No fault: Tax or Fee, Ex Ante options 23 • Fee for non-vaccinating, special fund. • Tax for non-vaccinating – Or: tax breaks for vaccinating. • Insurance premiums: increasing for non- vaccinating. – Or: insurance discount for vaccinating. Poll 3: 24 Why is increasing insurance premiums for non-vaccinating challenging in the United States? A. It’s politically unattractive. B. It requires amending the ACA, which is unlikely. C. It requires government nationalization of health insurance. D. It’s not. No fault: Billing or fining, Ex Post options 25 Billing: • Allow Health Agencies to bill Fining Bill COVID-19 Misinformation: 26 COVID-19 Misinformation 27 28 Thank you! Questions? Comments? [email protected] 415-5654844 29.
Recommended publications
  • How Congress Can Help Raise Vaccine Rates
    Notre Dame Law Review Reflection Volume 96 Issue 1 Article 3 10-23-2020 How Congress Can Help Raise Vaccine Rates Dorit Rubinstein Reiss Professor of Law, James Edgar Hervey Chair in Litigation, University of California-Hastings College of Law Y. Tony Yang Professor and Executive Director, Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement, George Washington University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndlr_online Part of the Health Law and Policy Commons, Legislation Commons, and the Science and Technology Law Commons Recommended Citation 96 Notre Dame L. Rev. Reflection 42 (2020) This Essay is brought to you for free and open access by the Notre Dame Law Review at NDLScholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Notre Dame Law Review Reflection by an authorized editor of NDLScholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HOW CONGRESS CAN HELP RAISE VACCINE RATES Dorit Rubinstein Reiss & Y. Tony Yang* 2019 saw an unusually high number of measles cases, and other preventable disease outbreaks, at least in part linked to vaccines refusal. States are considering legislative responses. This Essay examines what role the federal government can fill in increasing vaccines rates. The Essay suggests that the federal government has an important role to fill in funding research, coordination, and local efforts. It also suggests that a federal school vaccine mandate is likely not the solution: first, such mandates can run into plausible constitutional challenges, and second, there are policy arguments against it. The policy contentions include the unfairness of imposing a mandate before solving access problems throughout the country, the risk of a federal mandate that is weaker or stronger than the state requirement, and the risk that a conditional mandate will lead to states losing funding needed to prevent outbreak, ending with the ironic result of more outbreaks as a result of such a law.
    [Show full text]
  • Legal Approaches to Promoting Parental Compliance with Childhood Immunization Recommendations Lois A
    University of California, Hastings College of the Law UC Hastings Scholarship Repository Faculty Scholarship 2018 Legal Approaches to Promoting Parental Compliance with Childhood Immunization Recommendations Lois A. Weithorn UC Hastings College of the Law, [email protected] Dorit Rubinstein Reiss UC Hastings College of the Law Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/faculty_scholarship Recommended Citation Lois A. Weithorn and Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, Legal Approaches to Promoting Parental Compliance with Childhood Immunization Recommendations, 14 Hum. Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics 1610 (2018). Available at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/faculty_scholarship/1672 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HUMAN VACCINES & IMMUNOTHERAPEUTICS 2018, VOL. 14, NO. 7, 1610–1617 https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2018.1423929 REVIEW Legal approaches to promoting parental compliance with childhood immunization recommendations Lois A. Weithorn and Dorit Rubinstein Reiss UC Hastings College of Law, San Francisco, CA, USA ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY Rates of vaccine-preventable diseases have increased in the United States in recent years, largely due to Received 26 September 2017 parental refusals of recommended childhood immunizations. Empirical studies have demonstrated a Revised 7 December 2017 relationship between nonvaccination rates and permissive state vaccine exemption policies, indicating Accepted 30 December 2017 that legal reforms may promote higher immunization rates. This article reviews relevant data and KEYWORDS considers the legal landscape. It analyzes federal and state Constitutional law, concluding that religious constitutional law; legal and personal belief exemptions to school-entry vaccine mandates are not constitutionally required.
    [Show full text]
  • State and Federal Authority to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccination
    State and Federal Authority to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccination April 2, 2021 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R46745 SUMMARY R46745 State and Federal Authority to Mandate April 2, 2021 COVID-19 Vaccination Wen W. Shen The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines recently authorized by the U.S. Food and Legislative Attorney Drug Administration (FDA) are a critical tool to address the pandemic. After determining that these vaccines meet the applicable statutory standards and the Agency’s specific safety and efficacy standards, FDA issued Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) under Section 564 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). In particular, data supporting the EUA requests show that the vaccines are effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in vaccinated individuals. Given this data, many public health experts believe that promoting COVID-19 vaccination—along with continued engagement in community mitigation activities that prevent transmission, such as mask wearing and social distancing—should be a key component of the United States’ pandemic response. One available legal tool for increasing vaccination rates is for governments to require vaccination. Under the United States’ federalist system, states and the federal government share regulatory authority over public health matters, with states traditionally exercising the bulk of the authority in this area pursuant to their general police power. This power authorizes states, within constitutional limits, to enact laws “to provide for the public health, safety, and morals” of the states’ inhabitants. In contrast to this general power, the federal government’s powers are confined to those enumerated in the Constitution. This report provides an overview of state and federal authority to mandate vaccination.
    [Show full text]
  • Measles and Misrepresentation in Minnesota: Can There Be Liability for Anti-Vaccine Misinformation That Causes Bodily Harm?
    POST REISS-DIAMOND PAGES (2).DOCX (DO NOT DELETE) 9/25/2019 3:02 PM Measles and Misrepresentation in Minnesota: Can There Be Liability for Anti-Vaccine Misinformation That Causes Bodily Harm? DORIT RUBINSTEIN REISS* JOHN DIAMOND**† TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 532 II. NEGLIGENT MISREPRESENTATION RISKING PHYSICAL HARM ...................534 A. Duty of Care and Misrepresentation..............................................535 B. The First Amendment and Misrepresentation ................................539 C. Negligent Misrepresentation ..........................................................541 D. Reliance ......................................................................................... 542 III. A CASE STUDY:T HE MINNESOTA OUTBREAK ..........................................544 A. Anti-Vaccine Efforts in Minnesota .................................................548 IV. MEASLES, MMR, AND MISREPRESENTATION INVOLVING RISK OF PHYSICAL HARM ...................................................................................... 553 A. Liability to Third Parties ............................................................... 559 B. Other Elements of Misrepresentation ............................................560 C. Falsity ............................................................................................ 562 * © 2019 Dorit Rubinstein Reiss. Professor of Law, James Edgar Hervey Chair in Litigation, University of California, Hastings
    [Show full text]
  • Decoupling Vaccine Laws Dorit Rubinstein Reiss UC Hastings College of the Law, [email protected]
    University of California, Hastings College of the Law UC Hastings Scholarship Repository Faculty Scholarship 2017 Decoupling Vaccine Laws Dorit Rubinstein Reiss UC Hastings College of the Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/faculty_scholarship Recommended Citation Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, Decoupling Vaccine Laws, 58 B.C. L. Rev. E. Supp. 9 (2017). Available at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/faculty_scholarship/1567 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. DECOUPLING VACCINE LAWS DORIT RUBINSTEIN REISS* Abstract: School immunization requirements are an effective way of increasing vaccine rates and reducing outbreaks, but they may have a dark underside. Alt- hough such mandates protect the general public, the availability of exemptions may be open to exploitation as a tool to try to undermine other avenues for pro- tecting the vaccine-deprived children themselves. This essay argues that exemp- tions from school immunization requirements should not be understood to limit the protections available to children due to a decision to withhold vaccines. The existence of an exemption should, however, prevent criminal prosecution if a child dies from a preventable disease, because a parent can justifiably believe they were acting legally. INTRODUCTION Consider the following set of facts: parents decide based on their religious beliefs that they will not vaccinate their newborn baby.1 Although they have vaccinated their older child, this is their decision. The child is taken for routine pediatric visits at two, four, and six months of age; the doctor tries unsuccess- fully to persuade the parents to vaccinate on each occasion.
    [Show full text]
  • Amicus Brief
    Case 1:21-cv-01782-TNM Document 21-1 Filed 08/06/21 Page 1 of 33 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA JOSHUA MAZER, individually and on behalf of his minor child, Case No. 1:21-cv-01782 Plaintiff, vs. THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, et al., Defendants. BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, D.C. CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, MEDICAL SOCIETY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AND SOCIETY FOR ADOLESCENT HEALTH AND MEDICINE IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS AND OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION Case 1:21-cv-01782-TNM Document 21-1 Filed 08/06/21 Page 2 of 33 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page(s) TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE .....................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................2 ARGUMENT ...................................................................................................................................3 I. Widespread Vaccination Saves Lives. ...........................................................................3 II. Minor Consent Laws Provide an Important Backstop That Protects Vulnerable Minors. ...........................................................................................................................6
    [Show full text]
  • Employer-Mandated Vaccination for COVID-19
    University of California, Hastings College of the Law UC Hastings Scholarship Repository Faculty Scholarship 2021 Employer-Mandated Vaccination for COVID-19 Mark A. Rothstein Wendy E. Parmet Dorit R. Reiss UC Hastings College of the Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/faculty_scholarship Recommended Citation Mark A. Rothstein, Wendy E. Parmet, and Dorit R. Reiss, Employer-Mandated Vaccination for COVID-19, 111 Am. J. Public Health 1061 (2021). Available at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/faculty_scholarship/1832 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. VACCINES: BUILDING LONG-TERM CONFIDENCE unrelated to their public health goals, Employer-Mandated oppressive to particular individuals, or imposed a “plain and palpable violation Vaccination for COVID-19 of fundamental law.”3 For over a century, Jacobson v Mas- Mark A. Rothstein, JD, Wendy E. Parmet, JD, and Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, LLB, PhD sachusetts has been the leading au- thority for the state’s ability to require ABOUT THE AUTHORS vaccination. In 1922, the Supreme Court relied on this case to uphold a law re- Mark A. Rothstein is with Institute for Bioethics, Health Policy and Law, University of quiring that children be vaccinated to Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY. Wendy E. Parmet is with School of Law, Northeastern University, Boston, MA. Dorit Rubinstein Reiss is with University of California attend school, even though there was Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco.
    [Show full text]
  • Anti-Vaccine Misinformation and the Law: Challenges and Pitfalls
    ANTI-VACCINE MISINFORMATION AND THE LAW: CHALLENGES AND PITFALLS DORIT RUBINSTEIN REISS Partial Transcript of the Virtual Grand Rounds Summer Series Lecture* June 25, 2020 PROFESSOR REISS: Thank you for having me, and I am overwhelmed by this introduction. Also, like you, I hope that everybody is staying safe. My focus today is: what legal tools do we have to handle outbreaks that can be traced to misinformation? Most of my talk will focus on anti-vaccine misinformation because that is where I started looking at this. I will end the talk with some reference to COVID-19 misinformation, which is a growing public topic. I want to mention that my family owns some regular stock in GSK, which is a vaccine manufacturer. I am not sure that is related to what I am talking about today, but it is better to have more disclosure than less. Imagine the following scene. An anti-vaccine organization puts out misinformation that deters people from vaccinating. This could lead to an outbreak. For example, if you look at the bottom of the slide, this is a graph of cases of measles in the United States over the past decade.1 If you look at it, you will see that over the past few years we have had several large outbreaks that can be traced to anti-vaccine misinformation. This is the kind of harm that can result from misinformation. An unvaccinated child can get sick. The parents may consider suing the people that convinced them not to vaccinate. Also, an unvaccinated child can get sick and infect someone else.
    [Show full text]
  • Responding to the Childhood Vaccination Crisis: Legal Frameworks and Tools in the Context of Parental Vaccine Refusal
    Buffalo Law Review Volume 63 Number 4 Article 4 8-1-2015 Responding to the Childhood Vaccination Crisis: Legal Frameworks and Tools in the Context of Parental Vaccine Refusal Dorit Rubinstein Reiss UC Hastings College of Law Lois A. Weithorn UC Hastings College of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/buffalolawreview Part of the Health Law and Policy Commons Recommended Citation Dorit R. Reiss & Lois A. Weithorn, Responding to the Childhood Vaccination Crisis: Legal Frameworks and Tools in the Context of Parental Vaccine Refusal, 63 Buff. L. Rev. 881 (2015). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/buffalolawreview/vol63/iss4/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Buffalo Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Responding to the Childhood Vaccination Crisis: Legal Frameworks and Tools in the Context of Parental Vaccine Refusal DORIT RUBINSTEIN REISS † LOIS A. WEITHORN †† INTRODUCTION In January 2015, officials in California announced that they had linked multiple cases of measles to exposures that had occurred in Disneyland, in Orange County, California, in December 2014.1 Within a few weeks, the outbreak expanded to include almost 100 cases in multiple states (and Mexico), with the spread of the disease certain to continue.2 These † Professor of Law, UC Hastings College of the Law. †† Professor of Law, UC Hastings College of the Law.
    [Show full text]
  • Vaccines, Measles, and Rights by Dorit Rubinstein Reiss (PDF)
    VACCINES, MEASLES, AND RIGHTS Dorit Rubinstein Reiss Between the beginning of 2015 and February 20, 2015, 154 people in the United States were reported to have measles.1 Most, though not all, were linked to an outbreak that started in Disneyland, California; and California had the largest share of cases.2 In a country of over 300 million inhabitants, this appears a trivial number. Yet the outbreak triggered a call for strengthening immunization requirements.3 Why is this increase in measles cases a big deal? Because the disease is completely preventable. Since the United States adopted a policy of vaccinating with two doses of the very safe4 and very effective5 Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine (MMR), cases declined to such an extent that measles was declared eliminated Professor of Law, UC Hastings College of Law. 1. CTRS. FOR DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION, Measles Cases and Outbreaks http://www.cdc.gov/measles/cases-outbreaks.html (last updated Mar. 23, 2015). 2. Id.; CTRS. FOR DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION, U.S. Multi-State Measles Outbreak 2014—2015, http://www.cdc.gov/measles/multi-state- outbreak.html (last updated Mar. 23, 2015). 3. Jenny Gold, Measles Outbreak Sparks Bid to Strengthen Calif. Vaccine Law, NPR (Feb. 5, 2015, 5:04 AM), http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/02/05 /383988632/vaccination-exemption-blamed-for-measles-spread-in-california; Orac, Will the Disneyland Measles Outbreak Lead to the End of Non-Medical Exemptions to School Vaccine Mandates? (It Should), SCIENCEBLOGS (Feb. 6, 2015) http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2015/02/06/will-the-disneyland-measles- outbreak-lead-to-the-end-of-non-medical-exemptions-to-school-vaccine- mandates-it-should/.
    [Show full text]
  • How Congress Can Help Raise Vaccine Rates
    University of California, Hastings College of the Law UC Hastings Scholarship Repository Faculty Scholarship 2020 How Congress Can Help Raise Vaccine Rates Dorit R. Reiss UC Hastings College of the Law, [email protected] Y. Tony Yang Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/faculty_scholarship Recommended Citation Dorit R. Reiss and Y. Tony Yang, How Congress Can Help Raise Vaccine Rates, 96 Notre Dame L. Rev. Online 42 (2020). Available at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/faculty_scholarship/1803 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HOW CONGRESS CAN HELP RAISE VACCINE RATES Dorit Rubinstein Reiss & Y. Tony Yang* 2019 saw an unusually high number of measles cases, and other preventable disease outbreaks, at least in part linked to vaccines refusal. States are considering legislative responses. This Essay examines what role the federalgovernment can fill in increasing vaccines rates. The Essay suggests that the federal government has an important role to fill in funding research, coordination, and local efforts. It also suggests that a federal school vaccine mandate is likely not the solution: first, such mandates can run into plausible constitutional challenges, and second, there are policy arguments against it. The policy contentions include the unfairness of imposing a mandate before solving access problems throughout the country, the risk of a federal mandate that is weaker or stronger than the state requirement, and the risk that a conditional mandate will lead to states losing funding needed to prevent outbreak, ending with the ironic result of more outbreaks as a result of such a law.
    [Show full text]
  • Measles, Movements and Medical Exemptions: How California Learned to Lead the Way
    134 Spring 2020 Measles, Movements and Medical Exemptions: How California Learned to Lead the Way Joseph Bishop New York University A Disney Disease In mid-December of 2014, tourists from all over the world buzzed around Anaheim’s Disneyland. While they waited in line for the Matterhorn or spun around in oversized teacups, parents and children were unaware of the spreading disease—a strain of measles found earlier that year in the Philippines.338 Researchers estimated the vaccination rate of Disneyland’s guests during the outbreak to be as low as fifty percent and no higher than eight-seven percent. With such dismal rates, Disneyland became a resort for infectious disease. The higher estimate still placed the population well under a rate offering herd immunity—an immunity level to a disease within a population that makes disease-spreading difficult or impossible. After running models using data from California’s Department of Health and media-reported sources, epidemiologists tracked the spread to states beyond California, and into Canada and Mexico.339 By mid-January, there were already fifty-one confirmed cases in California 338 “Measles Cases and Outbreaks,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed February 4, 2019, https://www.cdc.gov/measles/cases-outbreaks.html. 339 Cari Nierenberg, “Disneyland Measles Outbreak Confirmed to Be Linked to Low Vaccination Rates,” Scientific American (March 17, 2015). Madison Historical Review 135 alone.340 Health officials hoped to contain the outbreak to theme park visitors, but patients who had not visited the park began to appear in Orange County hospitals. Ultimately, at least 147 measles cases originated from the Disneyland outbreak.341 A contagious disease spreading through a crowded theme park is not particularly uncommon.
    [Show full text]