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Samoa Shuts Down in Unprecedented Battle Against Measles

upstart writes in with a submission, via IRC, for Bytram.

Samoa shuts down in unprecedented battle against measles

Samoa began a two-day shutdown on Thursday as authorities embarked on an unprecedented mass vaccination campaign to contain a deadly outbreak of measles that has killed 62 people, mostly small children, in the Pacific island nation.

Officials suspended non-essential government services to allow civil servants to support the vaccination drive, and ordered all businesses to close. Inter-island ferry services were also cancelled.

"No one is being permitted to drive unless they are going to hospital or they have special permission," Al Jazeera's Jessica Washington said from the capital, Apia. Behind her wide streets were all but empty of people and cars.

"The ban is to make it as simple as possible for the medical teams to travel throughout Samoa and access as many families as possible."

Red Flags To Mark Homes Of Unvaccinated In Samoa, Officials Say

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

People who have not been vaccinated against the measles virus should mark their homes with red flags, Samoan officials announced Tuesday.

The outbreak has flourished after the vaccination rate of infants plunged to an estimated 31 percent last year. Health officials linked the drop in vaccination to the tragic deaths of two infants, who were given measles vaccines tainted with fatal doses of muscle relaxant. Two nurses were convicted in the cases and sentenced to five years in prison. Despite the convictions, anti-vaccine advocates have used the cases to drum up fear of vaccines.

As the outbreak took off last month, the Samoan government declared a state of emergency. It has closed schools, banned children from public gatherings, and begun a mass vaccination campaign. Samoa has since vaccinated over 58,000 people.

NB: The population of Samoa is just under 200,000 people.

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