Pennsylvania Governor urges CDC to record measles deaths amid outbreak
Governor Josh Shapiro asked the CDC to update its measles dashboard to include four deaths reported in Pennsylvania, as the state battles a large outbreak and seeks federal assistance.
Two additional fatalities have been confirmed in Pennsylvania's ongoing measles outbreak, raising the state’s death toll to four, while the federal CDC dashboard still shows no measles deaths for the year. A CDC spokesperson told WPSU that the agency is coordinating with state officials about the deaths and has offered on-the-ground assistance.
Governor Josh Shapiro told CNN’s “The Source” that he will not accept federal aid until the CDC’s public dashboard reflects the Pennsylvania deaths. He said Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had intervened in the reporting process, a claim Kennedy denied, stating the CDC follows its own criteria for measles-related deaths.
The outbreak, which began with two infant deaths confirmed by Lancaster County’s coroner in August, has now produced 731 reported cases statewide, making it one of the largest in the United States this year. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reports that nearly 7,000 MMR vaccine doses have been administered so far, including more than 1,000 this month.
Medical professionals on the front lines attribute the surge to declining vaccination rates. > "Now we see with the vaccination rates dropping, that those chinks in the armor are occurring, and it’s people who are susceptible, of course, suffering the consequences," said Dr. Stanley Martin, director of infectious diseases at Geisinger. He noted that measles had been declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000 and that this is the first time he has encountered the disease in his career.