An unvaccinated traveler rode Amtrak trains and buses through six California counties, potentially exposing countless Americans to measles, before turning up at Denver's Union Station and a Steamboat Springs hotel — and the outlets covering it won't ask the question that matters.
Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. California has now logged 59 cases across 13 counties this year. Ninety-four percent of those infected were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status, according to KCRA. A disease we conquered is back, and the press would rather recite vaccine schedules than investigate why.
The California Department of Public Health traced the infected passenger from Chicago to Los Angeles Union Station on September 12, then through Bakersfield, Stockton, Oroville, Sacramento, and Emeryville before the traveler departed for Denver on September 14. Colorado health officials then issued their own alert, tracking an unvaccinated out-of-state visitor to Denver's Union Station Tuesday evening and a La Quinta Inn in Steamboat Springs Wednesday morning, according to the Steamboat Pilot.
Both outlets dutifully repeated the vaccination talking points. KCRA quoted Assistant State Public Health Officer Dr. Rita Nguyen: "This case, along with previous measles outbreaks in California this year, serve as reminders of the importance of vaccination against measles." The Steamboat Pilot offered instructions on obtaining the MMR shot within 72 hours of exposure.
What neither outlet addressed: who is this traveler, what is their immigration status, and how did they enter the country? The press treats these questions as unspeakable. But when a disease America eliminated returns, Americans have a right to honest answers about whether open borders and unchecked migration are driving the problem.
That 94% of California cases involve unvaccinated individuals or those whose vaccination status is "unknown" is itself telling — and the press has no interest in filling in the blank.
Colorado's Department of Public Health and Environment warned anyone at the Steamboat Springs La Quinta Inn between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, or at Denver's Union Station between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tuesday, to watch for symptoms through early October. Measles starts with fever, cough, runny nose, and red eyes, followed by a rash. California officials issued the same warning for anyone who rode the affected Amtrak routes or visited those stations — symptoms can appear up to 21 days after exposure.
The MMR vaccine works. That's not in dispute. The dispute the press refuses to air is what happens when mass migration from countries with broken public health systems meets an American establishment that attacks anyone who asks questions. Fifty-nine cases in California alone. Six counties exposed in a single train ride. The people paid to hold power accountable won't even ask the question.
