<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Monday that it would not include two measles-associated deaths in Pennsylvania in its weekly outbreak update, stating that it is still investigating the cause of the deaths.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">State officials reported two measles-associated deaths in Lancaster County last week. The county coroner confirmed that one of these deaths was not directly due to measles, noting that a newborn infant died from a ruptured spleen shortly after birth. The Pennsylvania Department of Health acknowledged a second reported measles-associated death but has provided limited details, leaving it unclear whether this death was caused by measles.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The CDC declined to classify the measles-associated deaths as confirmed measles fatalities in its update, citing the need to review “additional information regarding the circumstances and causes of death.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“At this time, available information does not establish whether measles caused or contributed to the deaths or whether the individuals died from other causes while infected with measles,” a statement on the CDC’s website indicated. “CDC will update the national count as additional information becomes available.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The deaths in Lancaster have drawn national attention due to public disagreements between Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. regarding the framing of the deaths.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Governor Shapiro, who is considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate, highlighted that neither of the deceased individuals had been vaccinated for measles and urged residents to get vaccinated following the fatalities. “Today, we see the consequences of a lack of immunizations in the first measles-associated deaths that our commonwealth has seen in 35 years,” Shapiro stated on Tuesday alongside Dr. Debra Bogen at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Hospital. “I want to be clear: This illness and death from measles is completely preventable.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Kennedy criticized Shapiro, suggesting that the governor was using the fatalities to pressure residents into vaccination without evidence that the deaths were directly caused by measles. He accused Shapiro’s office of breaking tradition and violating “standard public health policy by refusing to share information with the County Health Department or CDC.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Kennedy further claimed, “The announcement appears to have been premature, and the deaths may even have been altogether fabricated by one of the Governor’s hopeful staffers. The Lancaster County Coroner says that it has no record of any measles deaths. State law requires that all measles deaths be reported to the coroner,” as he wrote in a post on X. “The performance was a replay of the Democrats’ COVID playbook: fearmongering, misinformation, finger-pointing, and the weaponization of infectious disease fears for political gain.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The CDC stated last week that it is working to determine “what actually occurred,” emphasizing that “accuracy is critical to reliable national data, transparency, and public trust.”</p>