Sen. Mike Lee draws ire with comment linking measles to immigrants

• "Blaming immigrants for disease is a disgusting old trope that our top leaders should not be perpetuating," added Johns Hopkins researcher Benjamin Mazer.

Reality check: The outbreak described in the story is centered in the neighboring towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona — an area dominated by people with ties to polygamous Mormon sects, not immigrants.

• Fundamentalist Mormon communities have a history of suspicion toward government authority and the medical establishment. Many children do not attend schools that require immunizations.

Lee's office did not respond to Axios' query.

Catch up quick: Lee was reposting a story shared by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) who wrote, "Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. RFK Jr. must resign."

• President Trump's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has reshaped U.S. health policy around his anti-vaccine beliefs.

The latest: Health officials have identified more than 120 measles cases in the outbreak at the state line, saying the virus is spreading into the tourist-heavy areas around Zion National Park, NBC News reported last week.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct Benjamin Mazer's name.