CDC faces criticism over measles death reporting as cases surge in Pennsylvania

The United States has seen a sharp increase in measles cases this year, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting 4,410 confirmed infections as of Oct. 15, nearly double the total recorded in 2025. Pennsylvania alone has reported more than 1,300 cases and 250 hospitalizations, and state health officials say the true number of infections could be as high as 6,000 due to underreporting.

State Health Secretary Debra Bogen sent a letter to CDC Director Erica Schwartz requesting that the agency include Pennsylvania’s reported measles deaths in its national tally. Pennsylvania has documented five deaths this year, with a sixth under investigation, while the CDC’s public dashboard lists only three deaths.

"By not acknowledging the deaths, the CDC obscures the seriousness of this disease and the toll of measles across the U.S.," Bogen wrote.

The discrepancy has drawn attention to changes made to the CDC’s measles dashboard earlier in the year. Reuters reported that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked the agency to remove two measles deaths from the count, a request that was carried out without objection, according to three sources. The deaths were later reinstated but marked as subject to change.

Kennedy, who serves as the U.S. health secretary, has defended the administration’s response, stating, "We have done better, and particularly, my administration has done better at controlling the outbreak than any other country in the world."

Health experts note that measles can cause severe complications, including pneumonia, blindness, encephalitis and immune system suppression, and that vaccination remains the most effective preventive measure. The World Health Organization estimates that measles vaccination prevented 59 million deaths globally between 2000 and 2024.

The situation comes as the Pan American Health Organization is expected to review the United States’ measles-elimination status later this year, a designation that was achieved in 2000 but could be revoked if continuous transmission persists.

In parallel, political groups aligned with the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement have contributed nearly $2 million to candidates supporting the health secretary’s agenda, according to a POLITICO report.

Public confidence in health information from the administration appears low; an Axios-Ipsos poll found that only one in four respondents trust such information.

The CDC has deployed an Epidemic Intelligence Service “disease detective” to Pennsylvania to assist with the outbreak response.