Pennsylvania health chief urges CDC to acknowledge measles deaths amid outbreak response
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Debra L. Bogen asked the CDC to publicly recognize four measles-related deaths and warned the state will withdraw its Epi-Aid request if the acknowledgment is not made.
Pennsylvania’s health department has written to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requesting that the agency publicly acknowledge four deaths linked to the ongoing measles outbreak. In the letter addressed to CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz, Secretary of Health Dr. Debra L. Bogen highlighted the state’s extensive vaccination effort, which includes more than 4,400 MMR doses administered at 140 pop-up clinics and a record 47,000 doses entered into the state immunization registry in August 2026.
"Pennsylvania has worked closely with CDC professionals throughout the outbreak, holding regular meetings to discuss resources, guidance and outbreak-related issues," Bogen wrote.
The department has also coordinated vaccination sites in churches, fire halls, homes and community events, and plans additional clinics. Despite these measures, the state continues to report measles cases, hospitalizations and the four deaths. Bogen said the deaths were identified through epidemiological investigations that follow published guidance, and that Pennsylvania shared its definition of a measles-associated death with the CDC and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists on Sept. 10, 2026, without receiving any objections.
The letter stresses that federal-state cooperation should be "respectful, transparent and fact-based" and asks the CDC to list the deaths on its public dashboard and provide accurate, timely information about the outbreak. Pennsylvania indicated it will withdraw its request for assistance through the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service/Epi-Aid program if the agency does not publicly recognize the four deaths.