PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Pennsylvania Department of Health has confirmed two more measles deaths on Tuesday, bringing the total for the state to four.
Officials said the deaths were individuals in Jefferson and Mifflin counties. Both were unvaccinated. One was 18 years old, as confirmed by the Mifflin County Coroner’s office. The Jefferson County Coroner's office reported the death of a 40-year-old woman due to measles-associated illness.
Late last month, the department confirmed the state's first two measles-related deaths in 35 years, both in Lancaster County. So far this year, there have been 693 confirmed cases in 38 counties.
Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen said in a statement that her thoughts were with the families who lost loved ones to the highly contagious virus and that the state faces the worst measles outbreak in 30 years.
“We remain committed to working with our partners across Pennsylvania to stem this outbreak and prevent more deaths. That means ensuring people have the facts about measles and access to the MMR vaccine — which kept measles outbreaks at bay for decades,” Boden said.
On social media, Gov. Josh Shapiro chastised the Trump administration, saying federal officials have stoked vaccine skepticism and misinformation, and accused Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy of compromising the work of public health agencies.
“It is also deeply concerning to learn that [Kennedy] 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,” he said.
Health officials have urged people to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Over 99% of the state's cases this year have been in people who were unvaccinated.
Stay with KYW Newsradio for more as this story develops.
