The CDC is withholding two Pennsylvania deaths from its 2026 measles fatality count while federal officials review whether measles contributed to the deaths, after conflicting accounts emerged from state health officials, a county coroner and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declined to count two deaths reported by Pennsylvania as “measles-associated” in its official national measles death tally while federal officials investigate the circumstances and causes of death.
The decision follows conflicting descriptions from Pennsylvania health authorities, a Lancaster County coroner and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over whether measles actually caused either death.
“The two measles-associated deaths announced by Pennsylvania have not been confirmed based on the information currently available to CDC,” a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC’s parent agency, told The Epoch Times in an email.
Pennsylvania officials announced Aug. 25 that two people in Lancaster County had died in cases they characterized as “related to measles” and “measles-associated.” State officials cited the deaths while encouraging residents to receive the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.
The Lancaster County coroner subsequently challenged the implication that measles caused the death known to his office.
According to the coroner, the only death involving measles of which he was then aware was a newborn who died from a lacerated spleen. He said measles did not cause that death.
The differing accounts prompted additional scrutiny of how the cases were being classified.
The CDC initially issued a statement expressing condolences to families and communities affected by the “measles-associated deaths” and said the MMR vaccine “provides the most effective protection against measles and helps prevent its spread.”
Kennedy later accused Pennsylvania officials of “fabricating” their characterization of the deaths.
Following Kennedy’s remarks, the CDC said it appreciated his “efforts to clarify conflicting information from Pennsylvania officials about whether the two reported deaths were caused by measles” and said the agency was working “to determine what actually occurred.”
The CDC then delayed its regular weekly measles update.
When the agency published the update Aug. 30, neither Pennsylvania death appeared in the national fatality count.
“This week’s measles outbreaks update will not include the two measles-associated deaths reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health on August 25 while CDC reviews additional information regarding the circumstances and causes of death,” the CDC said.
HHS, which handles media inquiries for the CDC, did not identify who made the decision to temporarily exclude the cases from the federal count.
Dr. Erica Schwartz recently became director of the CDC.
Outside the two Pennsylvania cases now under review, no measles deaths have been reported in the United States in 2026.
Pennsylvania Distinguishes Association From Cause of Death
The Pennsylvania Department of Health continues to list both fatalities as “measles-associated.”
A department spokesperson told The Epoch Times that the designation is not necessarily a declaration that measles caused the deaths.
“The Department consistently used the term ‘measles-associated’ in relation to these two deaths,” the spokesperson said. “That term means laboratory or epidemiologic evidence of measles is present—in both cases there was a positive measles test—but the disease may not be assessed by the medical certifier or coroner to be the immediate cause of death.”
That distinction has become central to the dispute.
A positive measles test can establish that a patient had measles, but it does not by itself demonstrate that the infection was the immediate or underlying cause of death.
The CDC is now reviewing additional information before deciding whether either case belongs in its official measles mortality statistics.
Coroner Investigating Another Child Death
The situation may become more complicated as Lancaster County authorities investigate another death involving measles.
The county coroner told a local news outlet Monday that his office had received a report that day involving another child who died while infected with measles.
The office is investigating that case.
No determination was provided regarding whether measles caused or contributed to the child’s death.
CDC Counted Three Measles Deaths in 2025
The federal government’s handling of the Pennsylvania cases differs, at least temporarily, from three deaths reported during 2025 outbreaks in New Mexico and Texas.
The CDC counted those fatalities after local and state officials said measles caused the deaths.
Kennedy has separately cited an outside review of the two Texas deaths, both involving children, that concluded inadequate treatment contributed to their deaths.
The Pennsylvania cases remain unresolved at the federal level.
State health authorities continue to classify the two deaths as measles-associated because both individuals had positive measles tests, while at least one county coroner has said measles was not the cause of the newborn death he reviewed.
Until the CDC completes its investigation, neither Pennsylvania case is being included in the agency’s official 2026 measles death count.
Original article
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