Pennsylvania measles surge prompts Amish-area midwife to seek vaccine-administering authority
Amid the state's largest measles outbreak in decades, a traditional midwife serving Amish communities in Lancaster County is urging officials to allow her to administer the MMR vaccine to patients.
Lancaster County health officials reported 731 measles cases across 38 counties, with the highest concentration in the region’s Amish population. Two Amish infants and two adults have died, marking the first measles-related fatalities in Pennsylvania in more than 30 years.
Roberta Devers, a 63-year-old traditional midwife who has delivered about seven babies a month in south-central Pennsylvania, said the outbreak has prompted families to ask whether she carries the vaccine in her vehicle. Although she received the standard childhood series, she chose not to vaccinate her own son and now believes that anyone who can should be immunized.
"Babies are dying," Devers said, adding that the community cannot wait to achieve herd immunity.
Devers, who is not Amish but has worked with the community for 38 years, wants state or federal health agencies to extend emergency vaccine-administration authority to traditional midwives. Current Pennsylvania law restricts vaccine delivery to licensed providers such as doctors and certified nurse-midwives, and the Department of Health says an amendment would be required to change that.
The Department of Health has conducted more than 120 pop-up vaccination clinics, delivering over 4,100 doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in locations ranging from churches to private homes. However, traditional midwives remain excluded from administering vaccines under existing regulations.
Vaccination rates among Pennsylvania children have been declining, with 30% of Amish families reporting that their children are vaccinated, according to a 2022 survey. Experts note that Amish communities do not object to vaccines on religious grounds but often limit use of modern medicine and face access challenges in rural settings.
Devers recently participated in a CDC interview about how midwives in Plain communities are responding to the outbreak, indicating some federal interest in collaborating with these caregivers. She expressed disappointment with former HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s comments downplaying the seriousness of measles, while supporting Governor Josh Shapiro's call for broader immunization efforts.
"My God, use your head," Devers said of Kennedy's remarks.
State officials continue to monitor the spread, which has now reached more than half of Pennsylvania’s counties, and plan additional vaccination sites as the outbreak persists.