"The deaths have been at the heart of a bitter political dispute between RFK Jr. and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D)."
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is excluding two deaths reported by Pennsylvania from its weekly updates of a national measles death tally, a decision that came from new CDC director Erica Schwartz, according to three former and current officials familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
The highly unusual decision departs from the agency’s practice of including such data from state health departments, which historically make the determinations. It also reflects how a bitter political dispute over the cause of the deaths in Lancaster County is now playing out inside the nation’s premier public health agency, testing a director who began helming the agency this month.
The deaths were made public Tuesday by the Pennsylvania health department, and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) later discussed them during a news conference. State health department officials have said they reported the deaths to the CDC measles response team Tuesday morning and met with agency officials Wednesday.
The deaths were not included on the CDC’s website, which is typically updated on Fridays. An asterisk on the CDC’s website says: “This week’s measles outbreaks update will not include the two measles-associated deaths reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health on August 25 while CDC reviews additional information regarding the circumstances and causes of death. At this time, available information does not establish whether measles caused or contributed to the deaths or whether the individuals died from other causes while infected with measles. CDC will update the national count as additional information becomes available.”"
Lena H. Sun and Rachel Roubein report for the Washington Post August 31, 2026.
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