Pennsylvania Reports First 2 Measles Deaths in US This Year

Two unvaccinated Pennsylvania residents have died after contracting measles, marking the first U.S. deaths from the highly contagious virus in 2026 and the first measles-related fatalities in Pennsylvania in 35 years, according to AP News.

State health officials confirmed the deaths on Tuesday, identifying both individuals as residents of Lancaster County, west of Philadelphia — the epicenter of Pennsylvania’s ongoing measles outbreak. Officials did not disclose further details about the deceased.

A Nationwide Crisis Deepens

The deaths come as the United States endures its worst measles year since 1991. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 2,777 confirmed measles cases across 47 jurisdictions as of August 20, already surpassing the 2,289 cases reported in all of 2025.

Pennsylvania has counted nearly 400 measles cases across 28 counties this year, with Lancaster County alone reporting 185 cases. The state ranks third nationally in case numbers, behind Utah and South Carolina. Nearly one in five people diagnosed with measles in Pennsylvania has required hospitalization.

“My deepest sympathies are with the loved ones who are facing this unimaginable loss,” said Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen. “Because measles was largely eliminated in the Commonwealth for more than three decades, people are not familiar with this disease and don’t fully understand the potential severity of the illness.”

Declining Vaccination Rates

The resurgence of measles — a disease the U.S. eliminated locally in 2000 — stems from falling vaccination rates. National kindergarten MMR vaccination coverage has dropped to 92.4%, down from 95% before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to CDC data. Vaccine exemptions among kindergartners reached an all-time high of 4.2%, representing approximately 155,000 children during the 2025-2026 school year.

In Lancaster County — known as the heart of Pennsylvania’s Amish community, a religious group sometimes reluctant to embrace modern medical interventions — about 88% of kindergartners were up to date on measles vaccines last school year, below the 95% threshold needed to prevent outbreaks.

Pennsylvania’s statewide kindergarten MMR vaccination rate was 93.2% for the 2025-2026 school year, down from 93.7% the previous year.

The U.S. has now seen five measles-associated deaths in the last two years — more than the combined total of reported deaths over the previous three decades. Three people died of measles nationwide in 2025, including two unvaccinated children in Texas.

Political Tensions Over Vaccines

Governor Josh Shapiro used a news conference Tuesday to criticize the Trump administration’s approach to vaccine policy, saying he had spoken directly with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and declined an offer of federal assistance.

“I was very, very blunt with him,” Shapiro said. “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 added: “There’s real-life consequences to scaring people and not relying on actual doctors and actual medical professionals to provide unbiased information to parents so that we can make reasonable decisions for our kids.”

The measles surge has coincided with moves by the Trump administration to scale back childhood vaccinations. President Trump earlier this month signed an executive order calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations and has advocated separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate shots. Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, unveiled a slimmed-down federal childhood vaccine schedule in January that was blocked by a federal judge in March.

Public health experts have expressed frustration with the federal response. William Moss, an epidemiology professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said: “One might think that by now, after more than a year and a half of ongoing measles transmission and outbreaks in the United States, we would be seeing more messaging and support from the federal government. Unfortunately, we’re not.”

The Stakes Ahead

The U.S. eliminated local measles spread in 2000 by maintaining high vaccination rates. In November, international health officials will meet to determine if the U.S. and Mexico have lost their measles-free status.

Meanwhile, states continue to battle significant outbreaks. South Carolina experienced the nation’s largest measles outbreak in 2026 with nearly 1,000 infections over six months, declared over in April. Utah has reported more than 700 cases over more than a year of fighting the virus.

Pennsylvania has been promoting measles vaccinations as cases have risen, with about 35,000 people vaccinated amid the outbreak — up from the usual pace of about 25,000 per month.

“We hope, and we pray, that those deaths will be the last,” Shapiro said. “This illness and death from measles is completely preventable.”

Dr. Mark Roberts, retired director of the Public Health Dynamics Lab at the University of Pittsburgh, offered a stark analogy for the consequences of vaccine refusal: “Not vaccinating your kid is like saying, ‘I don’t want my car to have brakes.’ Because it’s other people that you can hit. It’s not just you in your car. It’s other people.”

As the U.S. approaches the November international review and faces the possibility of losing its measles elimination status, public health officials stress that the path forward remains clear. “The time to prevent measles is before the outbreaks happen,” said Dr. David Margolius, director of Cleveland’s health department. “And the way to do that is clear and consistent and very visible messaging” about the importance of vaccinations.