HARRISBURG, Pa. — Two unvaccinated people died of measles in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the state health department confirmed Tuesday. They are the first measles deaths in the United States this year and the first in Pennsylvania in 35 years.
The deaths mark a stark escalation in a rapidly spreading outbreak. As of Tuesday, Pennsylvania had confirmed 393 measles cases, with 86 new diagnoses in the past week alone. Seventy people have been hospitalized statewide.
Lancaster County accounts for the majority of cases. Dr. Jeffrey Martin, a physician at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital, warned of the disease's danger during a media briefing.
"These tragic deaths remind us that measles is not a harmless illness," Martin said. "Pregnant women and children are vulnerable to measles if they are not vaccinated."
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen declined to release details about the deceased, citing patient confidentiality. Officials did not answer whether the deaths involved a pregnant woman or a baby.
The deaths arrive as the Trump administration escalates its assault on vaccination policy. Earlier this month, President Trump signed an executive order to reduce the number of vaccines recommended for children—a move backed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who has spent years spreading anti-vaccine falsehoods.
Governor Josh Shapiro moved swiftly to distance Pennsylvania from the administration's stance. When Kennedy contacted him to offer federal resources for the outbreak response, Shapiro rejected the offer outright.
"I made very clear that his actions and the rhetoric that's coming from this administration are having a negative impact on communities across America, particularly right here in Pennsylvania," Shapiro said. "There's real-life consequences to scaring people and not relying on actual doctors and actual medical professionals to provide unbiased information to parents."
Shapiro's rebuke underscores a widening rift between state health officials and Trump's HHS leadership. Pediatricians and public health experts have similarly condemned the administration's vaccine agenda, noting that Kennedy's track record includes a 2021 keynote speech in Lancaster County in which he made unfounded claims that vaccines are harmful.
The CDC and Department of Health and Human Services released a joint statement expressing condolences to affected families but stopped short of directly addressing the administration's vaccine policy.
