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Are there no outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases among Amish because they shun vaccinations?

By Sarah Thompson
NO

While a social media post uses sarcasm and the Amish tradition of independence and self-sufficiency to mock the effectiveness of vaccines, the meme relies on two false beliefs:

One, that Amish people never vaccinate their children -- they can and they do.

Two, that Amish communities have never been impacted by vaccine-preventable diseases -- there have been several documented outbreaks in Amish communities.

An outbreak of polio in 1979 prompted successful vaccination efforts.

From the 1993 book, "Amish Society" by John A. Hostetler: "If the Amish are slow to accept preventive measures, it does not mean they are religiously opposed to them.

"In the case of the polio outbreak, after a series of visits by health officials, the Amish arranged for mass immunization sessions in their homes and schools ... the Amish would not want to become the cause of other persons getting the disease."

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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