NPR

Samoa Arrests Anti-Vaccination Activist As Measles Death Toll Rises

Government officials say anti-vaccination advocates have complicated their efforts to turn the tide on an epidemic that has killed at least 63 people, most of them children.
Red flags hang outside of homes in Apia, Samoa, indicating that the residents have not been vaccinated for measles.

Samoan authorities have arrested a prominent anti-vaccination activist amid an outbreak that has killed at least 63 people, most of them children.

Edwin Tamasese has been charged with "incitement against a government order," according to the BBC.

Government officials say anti-vaccination advocates such as Tamesese have complicated their sweeping efforts to turn the tide on the highly on the independent Pacific islands.

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