This is how Britain sees America's measles outbreak

A California mother who chose not to vaccinate
(Image credit: YouTube/BBC)

One clue that this isn't an American news report is that BBC journalist Alistair Leithead says the measles outbreak started at "Disneyland California." What follows is a refreshingly outsider look at the issue of vaccination in America, including some conversations with mothers who chose not to vaccinate.

Britain, of course, gave the U.S. Dr. Andrew Wakefield and his now-completely-discredited paper linking measles vaccines to autism, and the U.K.'s measles vaccination rate is 93 percent, according to WHO figures, just a hair above America's 92 percent. So, no condescension from Leithead, just an interesting glimpse of a top U.S. story through a foreigner's eyes. Watch below. —Peter Weber

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.