Lancaster County reports highest measles cases in Pennsylvania

Sarah MettsLANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. —

Lancaster County leads Pennsylvania in measles cases this year, with 80 of the state’s 132 reported cases, according to the Department of Health.

Lancaster County accounts for most of Pennsylvania’s measles cases

“Measles in particular has been such a rare disease in the United States,” said Matt Ferrari, director of Penn State University’s Center for Infectious Disease, reflecting on the disease’s resurgence.

Health officials attribute the outbreak to under-vaccinated communities. “The reason we’re talking about these measles now is the same reason we were talking about measles months ago, right? You know, under-vaccination of communities and, you know, the spread of this virus through under-vaccinated communities and that’s it,” Ferrari said.

Health officials point to low vaccination rates

The Department of Health reports that none of the 132 individuals infected with measles in the state are fully vaccinated.

Ferrari outlined several reasons for the lack of vaccination, including age restrictions, underlying medical conditions, uncertainty or hesitancy, and ideological beliefs. “You have, you know, people with ideological reasons, you know, the Anabaptists in Pennsylvania, the Amish and Mennonites fall into that category,” he said.

While the Department of Health does not track vaccinations by religious affiliation, it does collect data from schools. For the 2024-2025 school year, nearly 88.5% of Lancaster County kindergarteners received both required doses of the MMR vaccine.

Experts cite hesitancy, access and belief systems

“Vaccines have always been controversial,” Ferrari said. “There’s this thing I’m uncertain about, and then there’s an outcome that is never going to happen to my family. It’s unfortunate that we have to wait for that to happen in order for people to see the, you know, the cost and benefit here.”

In response to the outbreak, the Department of Health has launched public health initiatives, administering more than 750 MMR vaccinations at pop-up clinics in the Lancaster area.

Additional clinics are already planned to address the ongoing situation.

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