By Sriparna Roy and Kamal Choudhury
Sept 15 (Reuters) – The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Tuesday reported two more measles-associated deaths, both in unvaccinated individuals, bringing the state’s total fatalities linked to the disease outbreak to four.
One individual lived in Jefferson County, while the other lived in Mifflin County, the department said, without disclosing any additional details, citing patient privacy. On Sunday, Jefferson County announced that a 40-year-old woman had died of measles complications.
Pennsylvania health officials have notified CDC of two additional deaths involving individuals who had measles, a spokesperson for the agency told Reuters, adding that it is in contact with state health officials as they continue to assess these deaths.
Pennsylvania said last month two residents died after contracting measles, the first such deaths this year in the U.S.
The issue has become politicized as the governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have publicly argued over the cases. Kennedy has said only one of the deaths was due to measles.
In a post on social media platform X on Tuesday, Kennedy said the CDC would include measles-related deaths in its tally once the National Center for Health Statistics determines measles was the underlying cause based on state-submitted death records.
Kennedy also accused Shapiro of politicizing the response and declining federal assistance, saying the government had offered to deploy CDC epidemiologists through its Epi-Aid program to help manage the outbreak.
The CDC currently does not include the 2026 deaths in its measles tally and its website says it is reevaluating how it classifies measles deaths.
Kennedy asked CDC Director, Erica Schwartz, to remove a reference to the two deaths from the agency’s online measles tally, Reuters reported earlier this month.
William Moss, an epidemiology professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, cautioned against letting disputes over death classifications overshadowing the clinical reality of the virus.
Classifying measles deaths can be complex because the virus can trigger complications that ultimately cause death, Moss said. “But we certainly do not want measles deaths to be politicized. They’re tragic enough for the family and community.”
U.S. MEASLES CASES SURGE
In 2026, the U.S. has had 3,294 confirmed measles cases through September 10, according to CDC data. Pennsylvania has been the hardest hit with 693 cases in 38 counties.
The Pennsylvania health department said it conducted rigorous investigations with cooperation from the Jefferson and Mifflin County coroner’s offices to determine that these cases met the criteria to be considered measles-associated deaths before announcing them.
It reports a “measles-associated death” when an individual with an active case of measles dies and meets a set of criteria.
Those include death within 30 days of symptom onset in an individual with clinical evidence of a measles infection and a positive laboratory test, and it is not due to unrelated causes such as an accident. Whether an individual was exposed to measles prior to their death or supporting medical records are also considered.
Measles, which can cause symptoms including fever, rash and respiratory issues, is highly contagious but easily preventable with the measles, mumps and rubella combination vaccine — a routine shot for children that is 97% effective in preventing infection after two doses.
Americans’ trust in vaccines for deadly childhood diseases, including measles, has fallen in recent years, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
President Donald Trump last month unveiled an executive order that criticized the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, calling for the long-used combination shot to be split up into three separate shots.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy and Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Tasim Zahid)
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