RAPID CITY, S.D. \u2014 Native American tribes and health organizations are responding to concerns about low measles vaccination rates and patients\u2019 difficulty getting care as an outbreak of the disease spreads around the country.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re hosting mobile vaccine clinics, running social media campaigns, making sure health providers are vaccinated, reaching out to the parents of unvaccinated children, and hosting online training sessions.<\/p>\n
The push to ensure Native American communities are protected from the virus comes as the U.S. is experiencing its worst measles outbreak since 1992. The South Dakota health department announced in early June that the first case in the state was an adult from the Rapid City area.<\/p>\n
Cassandra Palmier and her son, Makaito Cuny, have benefited from this outreach. Palmier jumped at the opportunity to get her 5-year-old vaccinated after learning that a mobile clinic would make a stop near her home in a predominately Native American neighborhood in Rapid City.<\/p>\n
She had been meaning to get Makaito his second and final dose of the measles vaccine. But car problems made it difficult to get to the doctor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was definitely concerned about the epidemic and the measles,\u201d said Palmier, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. \u201cI wanted to do my part.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meghan O\u2019Connell is the chief public health officer at the Great Plains Tribal Leaders\u2019 Health Board, which organized the mobile clinic. She said data on Native Americans\u2019 vaccination rates is imperfect but suggests that a smaller percentage have received measles shots than the overall U.S. population.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Connell said lower vaccination rates may stem from challenges in accessing shots and other health care. Native Americans on rural reservations may be an hour or more from a clinic. Or, like Palmier, they may not have reliable transportation.<\/p>\n
Another reason, O\u2019Connell said, is that some Native Americans distrust the Indian Health Service, which is chronically underfunded and understaffed<\/a>. If the federal agency runs the only nearby health care facility, patients may delay or skip care, she said.<\/p>\n Mirroring a nationwide trend, vaccine skepticism and mistrust of the entire health care system are growing in Native American communities, O\u2019Connell added.<\/p>\n During the mobile clinic\u2019s stop in his Rapid City neighborhood, Makaito walked onto the bus and hopped into an exam chair.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to be scared,\u201d he announced. Makaito sat still as a nurse gave him the shot and placed a bandage on his arm. \u201cI did it!\u201d he said while smiling at his mother.<\/p>\n KFF Health News<\/a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF\u2014an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF<\/a>.<\/p>\nUSE OUR CONTENT<\/h3>\n