Overview

• Liam Dahlberg, 8, was rushed to the hospital in April and was declared brain dead less than 20 hours after his H. flu meningitis symptoms emerged.
• Doctors believe the fully vaccinated boy suffered a breakthrough Hib infection after exposure to an unvaccinated classmate carrying high levels of the bacterium.
• The Hib vaccine has reduced serious pediatric H. flu cases from around 20,000 annually before its 1985 rollout to under 50 today but recent declines in uptake have increased vulnerability.
• Ashlee Dahlberg’s Change.org petition calls on state lawmakers to eliminate religious exemptions from school vaccine mandates to strengthen community protection.
• Public health experts warn that without maintaining high immunization rates, rare but deadly bacterial infections like H. flu meningitis can resurge among children.