HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania health officials confirmed two additional measles-associated deaths this week, bringing the state’s 2026 total to four — the first measles-related deaths in Pennsylvania in 35 years and part of the deadliest stretch for the disease in the United States in decades.
All four deaths involved unvaccinated individuals, according to the state health department. One of the newly reported cases was an 18-year-old in Mifflin County who died from acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, a rare neurological complication that can follow measles infection, the county coroner said. Another death involved a 40-year-old woman in Jefferson County.
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro called the deaths tragedies and said Pennsylvania is experiencing the worst measles outbreak in the nation. In a social media post he directly criticized Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., accusing him of stoking vaccine skepticism and of directing the CDC not to report the Pennsylvania deaths in standard updates.
Kennedy and federal health officials have disputed aspects of how state officials characterized earlier cases and the federal response. The political fight has become a national flashpoint over immunization policy, agency independence, and how measles deaths are counted and communicated to the public.
Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. Public health experts link the current surge to declining vaccination rates in some communities. State officials continue to urge MMR vaccination, especially for children and people in outbreak counties.
The dispute between Shapiro and Kennedy is unlikely to end quickly. With case counts still elevated, both the medical and political stakes remain high for Pennsylvania families and for national public-health messaging heading into the midterms.
Gov. Josh Shapiro said the outbreak is the worst in the country and accused Secretary Kennedy of stoking vaccine skepticism while intervening to keep Pennsylvania deaths out of routine CDC tallies.
Reporting based on official statements and developments in September 2026.
