Baby Griffin's Mom Angry After Measles Exposure

On 10 February 2015, a Canadian woman named Jennifer Hibben-White published a public status update to her Facebook page concerning an ongoing outbreak of measles. Hibben-White stated after take her infant son to the

pediatrician for a well baby visit on 27 January 2015, she received a call from her local public health authorities warning her a patient who had visited the pediatrician's office on the same day later developed measles.

Hibben-White said she was told that the unidentified patient was in the waiting room within an hour and a half before her arrival at the facility, and the measles virus can remain airborne for two hours. Thus her 15-day-old son Griffin had possibly been exposed to the measles during their wait.

In less than 24 hours, Hibben-White's status update was shared hundreds of thousands of times. According to its content (reproduced in full below), both the infant boy and his toddler sister must remain isolated until either they too develop measles or the incubation period concludes:

On February 9th, I received a phone call from York Region Public Health, informing me that Griffin, alongside my mother and I, was potentially exposed to the measles virus while attending a newborn weigh-in appointment at my doctor's office in Markham on January 27th.
Griffin was 15 days old at the time.

I was informed that someone who later developed measles sat in the doctor's waiting room between 1 hour before and 30 minutes before we arrived. I was also informed that measles is regarded as "airborne" and can stay in the air and on surfaces up to 2 hours after the infected person has left.

I was then asked if I had had the measles vaccine. I had.

Griffin. Griffin had not. Can not.

I was advised to not be around small children. If I worked in such an environment I would be written off work. I do work in such an environment; my home. Where I now sit with Griffin and my 3 year old, Aurelia, who has only been able to get one MMR vaccine so far. She is now, technically, exposed too. We are to sit tight and watch for symptoms: fever, cough, runny nose. If we develop any of these we are to call my doctor and arrange to come in under official medical precautions. We are to wait at home, in isolation, until February 17th, after which the 21 days of possible incubation will have passed and we are clear.

So, Griffin is now Schrodinger's baby. Simultaneously with measles, and without it. Until he develops symptoms, or until a further 7 days pass. One or other.

And I'm angry. Angry as hell.

I won't get angry at or blame the person in the waiting room. I would have likely done the same thing...you get sick, you go to the doctor. I have no idea what their story is and I will never know. But I do know one thing:

If you have chosen to not vaccinate yourself or your child, I blame you.

I blame you.