I'm not sure it's accurate to say the Pacific Northwest measles outbreak is under control, but it's no longer the top public health concern this spring. They did manage to track it back to Patient Zero and they were from the former Soviet Bloc.

Russian speakers in the Portland/Vancouver area avoid vaccinations at above-average rates.

The first reason is distrust of public health. Those of us who do vaccinate our kids can't relate with people who don't trust public health experts. But if you're from a former Soviet country controlled by Russia, you have a natural distrust for government and their intentions. This made them distrustful of vaccinations in the Old Country, and they brought that attitude with them.

The second reason is Russia actively spreads misinformation as part of their social media campaign to destabilize Western democracies. Anti-vaxx messages are all over Russian-language social media.

The result is a large population of Ukrainians and Belarussians who don't vaccinate their kids and all go to church together (which is how measles spread from Patient Zero to the community).

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