The nation has seen more measles cases in 2026 <\/a>than in any year in the past three and a half decades, according to reports. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 3,134 cases in the U.S., including 557 in Pennsylvania as of Thursday.<\/p>\n Last week, the Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed two deaths in the state that the agency believed were related to measles infections, urging residents to get vaccinated. <\/p>\n \u201cJust this morning, the Pennsylvania Department of Health announced the first two measles-associated deaths in Pennsylvania in 35 years,\u201d Governor Josh Shapiro <\/a>said at an August 25 news conference. \u201cBoth of the individuals were from Lancaster County and both were unvaccinated. We hope and we pray that those deaths will be the last.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennedy, a vaccine-skeptic who has been accused of not doing enough to prevent measles outbreaks<\/a>, sowed doubt about the deaths, writing<\/a> on X a day later: \u201cThe announcement appears to have been premature, and the deaths may even have been altogether fabricated by one of the Governor’s hopeful staffers.\u201d<\/p>\n The health secretary said the coroner in Lancaster County, where both deaths occurred, had not recorded any measles deaths, adding, \u201cGovernor Shapiro got his headlines. He correctly gambled that the slavish mainstream media would dutifully amplify his scolding without any effort to check his facts.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennedy then asked his newly appointed CDC director, Erica Schwartz, to remove a reference to the two deaths from the agency\u2019s online measles tracker, and Schwartz complied, Reuters<\/a> reported Thursday, citing three anonymous sources familiar with the matter. <\/p>\n On Friday, Lancaster County Coroner Stephen Diamantoni confirmed that one of the two deaths was measles-related. <\/p>\n A six-week-old Amish girl with a rare genetic disorder died from measles at home, Diamantoni said in a LancasterOnline <\/a>article, adding, \u201cI believe it was the 18th of August.\u201d<\/p>\n The girl had Amish lethal microcephaly, which causes affected babies to be born with unusually small heads and underdeveloped brains. <\/p>\n \u201cThose children are sick from birth and actually are placed on palliative care from the time of birth. They typically only live 5 or 6 months of age and the majority of those children die as a result of a respiratory infection of any kind, because their brain is very small and they don\u2019t have the capacity to fight those infections well,\u201d Diamantoni explained. <\/p>\n The coroner confirmed that while the girl had Amish lethal microcephaly, measles was the cause of death. <\/p>\n Measles is a highly contagious virus that typically causes fever and a rash. It can cause serious complications, including death, especially in those under 5 years old. Public health experts say the best way to protect against measles is to get vaccinated. <\/p>\n Following the coroner\u2019s findings, Shapiro wrote<\/a> on X Friday, \u201cIt\u2019s long past time for RFK to stop playing games with people\u2019s lives, report these deaths accurately on the CDC dashboard, and heed the guidance of actual medical experts so people get accurate information to discuss with their trusted health care providers and can best protect themselves and their children against this deadly disease.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennedy accepted that the infant girl died of measles, but focused on the other baby who died in Lancaster County. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Lancaster County Coroner has now publicly stated that measles caused only the second infant\u2019s death and has also publicly stated that the infant had Amish lethal microcephaly\u2026the Coroner continues to state publicly that the first infant died from a lacerated spleen, not measles,\u201d Kennedy wrote<\/a> on X Friday. <\/p>\n![\"Health](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2292399181.jpg\")
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has finally admitted that measles was the cause of an infant\u2019s death in Pennsylvania (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Last](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2276618387.jpg\")
Last week, Pennsylvania officials announced two deaths in the state that they believed were related to measles infections, urging residents to get vaccinated (Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2202122580.jpg\")
The coroner in Lancaster County, where both deaths occurred, later confirmed one of the deaths had been from measles, but the other had not been (Getty Images)<\/p>\n