Amish relied on God’s will and herd immunity for vaccines

when health Care leaders in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country have begun to come up with strategies for distributing COVID-19. vaccine, They knew it would be a tough sale with Amish, who tend to be wary of preventive shots and government intervention.

Early on, they posted leaflets at produce stores and auctions where Amish sells handmade furniture and quilts. They sought advice from members of a very religious and conservative denomination who told them not to be brute force. They then asked Amish to place advertisements promoting the vaccine in three widely read newspapers. The two refused.

By May, two local immunization clinics had been opened at the fire department and social welfare center, which are familiar locations in Amish, Lancaster County. In the first 6 weeks, 400 people appeared. There were only 12 Amish.

Vaccination momentum has been far behind in many Amish communities across the United States following the wave of virus outbreaks that have hit churches and homes over the past year. In Holmes County, Ohio, where Amish is the most concentrated in the country, only 14% of the county’s total population is fully vaccinated.

Although their religious beliefs do not prohibit them from being vaccinated, Amish are generally less likely to be vaccinated against preventable illnesses such as measles and whooping cough. Vaccine acceptance varies by church district, but Amish often rely on family traditions and advice from church leaders, and a central part of their Christian faith is of God at the time of illness or death. To accept the will.

Many believe that the COVID-19 vaccine is no longer needed because they are already ill and believe that the community has reached herd immunity. health care Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana providers, home to nearly two-thirds of the estimated 345,000 Amish in the United States

“That’s the number one reason we hear,” said Alice Yoder, director of community health at Lancaster General Hospital, a network of hospitals and clinics.

According to experts, the low vaccination rate reflects both the nature of the Amish and the common vaccine hesitation found in many rural areas of the country.

Many Amish work with their neighbors to shop and hire as drivers, even though they most avoid skepticism, concerns about side effects, and false information surrounding vaccines. The modern convenience you hear from the “English” or non-Amish world around them.

“They don’t get it from the media. They don’t watch TV or read on the internet. They get it from their British neighbors,” said Donald, Amish guru.・ Kraybill said. “In many ways, they simply reflect the same attitude as the American countryside.”

In one case, an anti-vaccine group put up a full-page newspaper ad showing that it broke the buggy with the words “vaccines can have unintended consequences.”

Public health officials trying to fight the turmoil and hesitation put up a sign where Amish traveled on horses and buggies, sent a letter to the bishop, and offered to bring the vaccine to his home or office, but all succeeded. did not.

“It’s not due to lack of effort,” said Michael Dare, a health commissioner in Holmes County, Ohio. “But this has been very politically criticized.”

Some clinics servicing Amish are hesitant to push the problem for fear of keeping them away from undergoing blood pressure checks and routine tests.

A local company and organizer of a community event told the Holmes County Health Department that bringing vaccines would no longer be welcomed, Dare said.

Staff at the Parachial Medical Center, which serves Amish and Mennonites in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, recommend vaccination of patients, but many have little fear of the virus and the clinic’s administrator, Allen Hoover. Mr. says.

“Most of them listen and pay homage, but before they finish, they can say they’re already determined,” he said.

He said the clinic now has few cases of the virus after being treated five times a day last fall. “I think we’ve got some kind of immunity. I know it’s controversial, but that’s why we’re just looking at it now. I think, “said Hoover.

Esther Chernak, director of the Center for Public Health Preparation and Communication at Drexel University in Philadelphia, said it is dangerous to rely on herd immunity potential when few tests have been conducted among the Amish. ..

“It’s not a community that lives on the island and doesn’t interact with other people,” she said. “They are still exposed because their interaction with the outside world is not zero.”

Also, it is not clear how long someone will remain immune after being infected with COVID-19, and many experts recommend vaccination to provide a higher level of protection.

Nearly 180 million Americans (54% of the population) have been vaccinated with at least one COVID-19 vaccine. Low vaccination rates can cause the virus to mutate and recover, experts say.

During the first months of the Pandemic, Amish followed social distance guidelines and stopped gathering for churches and funerals, said Steven, a scholar at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania. Nord said.

But when non-Amish neighbors and local-elected officials began to oppose state and federal orders, he said they resumed the rally. What followed was a surge in outbreaks last summer, Nort said.

Mark Labor, an Amish member of the Daviess County, Indiana village, which has the lowest vaccination coverage in the state, said most people are already infected with the virus and do not need to be vaccinated. I will.

“As long as everything is the same, I don’t think I’ll get it,” he said.

To change these views, we need to build a relationship of trust with Amish, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last year in a report examining outbreaks in these communities.

According to health care providers, Amish has won a lottery of statistics and vaccines due to general distrust and refusal of government support. Amish does not accept social security benefits.

Trevor Thain, who owns a Topeka pharmacy in northern Indiana with 25,000 Amish, has worked with the CDC to close the communication gap in Lagrange County, where only 18% of the population is fully vaccinated.

Since the vaccine became available, they have immunized 4,200 people, perhaps only 20 of them are Amish, he said.

A few weeks ago, he published a leaflet offering personal appointments and doses dispensed at home. Only a few Amish people answered, including those who brought in the request “Don’t tell my family,” Tyne said.