Pennsylvania reported its fifth measles death on Wednesday as the disease outbreak continues to grow across the United States with more than 3,500 cases.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health did not release details of the individual who died from the disease, but noted that it occurred in Lancaster County and the person was not vaccinated. The health department said there have been 943 confirmed cases of measles in the state in 2026.
Pennsylvania had previously reported four measles-related deaths, including an 18 year old, a 40-year-old woman, and two infants who died last month, all of whom were not vaccinated.
Of the thousands of measles cases reported in the U.S. this year, 95% of sick individuals did not receive the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC has accounted for only two deaths related to the measles outbreak on its website, with Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) blaming Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the severity of the outbreak and vowing to refuse any federal aid until all of the Pennsylvania deaths are accounted for.
Shapiro accused Kennedy of having “personally intervened in an otherwise administrative process to direct the CDC to not report these Pennsylvania deaths, presumably because it doesn’t fit his phony narrative.” The governor alleged Kennedy has stoked vaccine skepticism that has threatened the country’s measles elimination status it has held since 2000.
Kennedy disputed Shapiro’s summation of events, saying the governor is choosing “to politicize this outbreak instead of implementing a unified public health response.” Kennedy also denied the accusation that he is interfering with the CDC’s death toll reporting.
PENNSYLVANIA REPORTS TWO NEW MEASLES DEATHS AS GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO BLAMES RFK JR.
The HHS secretary also noted that he offered to send CDC epidemiologists to Pennsylvania to help with the state’s response to the outbreak, but Shapiro later said he would refuse any aid until the deaths are accounted for by the CDC.
The U.S. has not reported more than 2,000 measles cases since 1991, according to the CDC. There have been 40 new measles outbreaks reported in the country in 2026, with Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Utah being hit the hardest.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
