ST. PAUL, Minn. – Public health experts have cautioned anyone at Mall of America on May 24 as at-risk for the miserable and sometimes deadly measles virus. More seriously they may be unwitting carriers. The state Health Department said an unvaccinated child was at the mall’s inside theme park in the evening. The Department identified the child only as from Dakota County, which spans Twin Cities suburbs whose population totals 240,000. The 600-store mall averages 110,000 visitors a day – and more on a Saturday like May 24 with thousands of kids at the theme park. Since a measles vaccine was introduced in 1963, the disease has been largely eradicated in the United States. There is, however, an anti-science anti-vax U.S. subculture where parents refuse to vaccinate their children. As a result there are occasional outbreaks. The Mall of America case is only the second in Minnesota this year. The earlier victim was an adult in Washington County, east of St. Paul, which was diagnosed after returning from travels. So far this year, the United State has reported 1,100 cases, 720 of them spreading from an isolated anti-vax rural colony in Texas.
Measles-stricken child. A distinctive rash starts on the face and spreads downwards. Other symptoms: Sore throat, white spots in the mouth and muscle pain. Symptoms appear seven to 14 days after exposure.
Verbatim
Jessica Hancock-Allen, state diirector of infectious disease: “Measles is spread by talking and laughing and singing. Unfortunately it can hang out in the air and infect others for up to two hours, even after infectious person leaves that airspace.” Measles can cause brain-swelling pneumonia.
Vaccination rates
Public health experts worry about a declining vaccination rate in Minnesota. In 2019 92% of Minnesota kindergarteners were fully vaccinated. In 2024 the number dropped to 87%.