Pennsylvania reports two new measles deaths as Gov. Josh Shapiro blames RFK Jr.

In the past several weeks, Pennsylvania has reported four measles-related deaths. An 18-year-old died on Tuesday, a 40-year-old woman died over the weekend, and two infants died last month, all of whom were not vaccinated.Shapiro took to social media to blame Kennedy for “playing games with public health and safety,” emphasizing that measles is a disease that was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. “This serious situation continues to be made worse by RFK Jr. playing games with public health and safety,” Shapiro said. “It’s long past time for @SecKennedy to stop stoking vaccine skepticism and misinformation and compromising the serious mission of the nation’s public health agencies. It is also deeply concerning to learn that the Secretary personally intervened in an otherwise administrative process to direct the CDC to not report these Pennsylvania deaths, presumably because it doesn’t fit his phony narrative.”At the time of reporting, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not added the Pennsylvania deaths to its 2026 measles death toll. However, it does note that there have been over 3,000 confirmed cases of measles in the U.S. in 2026, 8% of which have led to hospitalizations.In Pennsylvania, the state Department of Health has reported 693 measles cases. The recent deaths are the first caused by the disease in the state in 35 years.Kennedy later hit back at Shapiro, accusing him of politicizing the outbreak rather than responding to the health crisis.“Governor Shapiro has chosen to politicize this outbreak instead of implementing a unified public health response,” Kennedy said. “He continues to point the finger at me and the federal government and to malign the Amish while refusing the federal assistance that might help end the outbreak. I have offered the Governor CDC Epi-Aid, which would put CDC epidemiologists on the ground to help the state respond.”Additionally, Kennedy disputed Shapiro’s claim that the Cabinet official has played a role in the CDC’s reporting of the deaths.“Governor Shapiro’s claim that I directed CDC to suppress Pennsylvania deaths is false,” he said. “CDC is applying a consistent national standard rather than allowing politicians to decide which deaths appear in federal mortality statistics. CDC will report measles-caused deaths when the National Center for Health Statistics reports measles as the underlying cause based on death record information submitted by the states.”GAO FINDS MILLIONS OF OBAMACARE ENROLLEES HAVE ABORTIONS COVEREDMeasles cases have surged nationwide this year. The CDC in June said U.S. measles cases had already surpassed the total recorded in 2025, reaching the highest level in 35 years.The resurgence has also raised questions about whether the U.S. could lose its elimination status, which it has held since 2000. The Pan American Health Organization is scheduled to conduct an international review of the country’s elimination status in November.