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Take a closer look at the major, ongoing measles outbreaks in Washington and New York. What do they have in common?
And what do these outbreaks share with 75 percent of the other measles cases that've happened in the US recently? 1/
And what do these outbreaks share with 75 percent of the other measles cases that've happened in the US recently? 1/
They're associated with tight-knit communities. In Washington, it's Eastern European immigrants. In New York, it's Orthodox Jewish families.
Before this year, it was the Amish of Ohio, the Somali-Americans in Minnesota, etc. 2/
Before this year, it was the Amish of Ohio, the Somali-Americans in Minnesota, etc. 2/
The CDC's immunization dept. has identified tight-knit communities — people of a similar background, share values and beliefs, interact often — as an urgent threat to vaccine coverage. 3/
vox.com/2019/3/19/1826…
vox.com/2019/3/19/1826…
More powerful than Facebook, these real-life social networks have sometimes helped vaccine doubt go viral.
In Washington, they've led Russian-language families — mainly from Ukraine and Russia — to have the lowest childhood vaccine coverage rate in the state. 4/
In Washington, they've led Russian-language families — mainly from Ukraine and Russia — to have the lowest childhood vaccine coverage rate in the state. 4/
The reasons for the vaccine doubt are complex, but in this case — they're largely driven by a mistrust of medicine and elites carried over from the former USSR. And they've gone viral, depressing children's vaccine rates. 5/
