The measles outbreak is "slowing." A newborn's family still can't meet her.
A Utah family is struggling to protect their newborn daughter from measles due to the child's age and shifting public health guidance. Despite a decline in local cases, the parents continue to isolate their family to mitigate risks while navigating the complexities of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Why it matters
It highlights the ongoing tension between individual parental caution and shifting public health policies during a period of rising national measles cases.
Kasey is seven weeks old tomorrow. Her parents keep a running list of the people she hasn't met: great-grandparents in the Midwest, family in Arizona, relatives who are sick and running out of time to fly. Measles is the reason.The official story in Utah is that the worst has passed. State guidance on the measles shot recently moved back to the usual 12 months, after a stretch of offering it early because spread had slowed. Utah's own weekly case count has fallen sharply since its March peak. The national count hasn't: it passed last year's full-year total this week and is still climbing.None of that changes the math in Abby Laskey and Liam Hammons' apartment in Mill Creek, just outside Salt Lake City. Kasey is too young for the MMR vaccine.
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