With US measles deaths on the rise, local officials are stepping in where RFK Jr won’t

‘Countering federal misinformation has fallen disproportionately on doctors and nurses who never expected to be doing that kind of work.’ Composite: Rita Liu/The Guardian/Getty Images/Heather Grubola

On an early September morning, dozens of families stood in line outside a clinic in Yeadon, Pennsylvania. It was “exclusion day”, the deadline by which students without complete immunizations are barred from returning to class.

Instead of turning families away, school district leaders partnered with the county health department to vaccinate kids nearby so they could go back to their desks. That day, 42 middle and high school students were vaccinated to protect against tetanus, pertussis and meningitis, among other diseases.