Recent measles outbreaks in Ontario, Alberta, and parts of the United States have drawn attention to vaccine hesitancy in some Mennonite communities. Royden Loewen, Senior Scholar and former Chair in Mennonite Studies at the University of Winnipeg, was interviewed by CBC London Morning about why this might be. Loewen noted that historically Mennonites have embraced modern medicine and showed no reluctance to get vaccinated. He emphasized that there is no religious teaching among Mennonites against vaccination.

Loewen attributed the current reluctance to a broader erosion of trust in public health, in response to such events as Ontario’s 2017 HPV vaccine mandate and the COVID-19 pandemic. Loewen is hopeful that the close-knit, community-minded values of conservative Mennonite groups could be key to addressing the issue: “Mennonites care a lot about other people, about their neighbours. I think once they become convinced that this is a problem . . . they’ll come around.” Loewen calls for renewed engagement between public health officials and community leaders to rebuild trust and support informed health decisions within these communities.