CDC retains two measles deaths in internal database after they were removed from public website
Reports say the CDC kept records of two measles-related deaths in an internal system despite their removal from the agency's public data, a decision linked to a request from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to list two measles deaths in its internal "One CDC Data Platform" even though the records were removed from the agency's public website, according to documents verified by CDC staff. Reuters reported that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked new CDC director Erica Schwartz to delete the deaths, which had previously been reviewed and classified as measles-related by CDC personnel. Schwartz complied without objection, and the entries disappeared from the public site within hours on Aug. 30.
The two fatalities involved a newborn and a child in Pennsylvania, where health officials have documented an ongoing measles outbreak that has sickened 540 people, including 119 in the past week. State health officials said they have supplied all required information to the CDC.
An internal CDC note now states that the agency is not reporting the deaths because "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." HHS previously said the deaths have not been confirmed based on the information currently available to the CDC.
The incident follows a public dispute between Kennedy and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro over the handling of the outbreak. Kennedy alleged the deaths might have been fabricated, a claim for which no evidence was provided. The CDC typically relies on state and local health departments to determine case and death counts, aggregating the data for national reporting.