RFK Jr. suggests two Pennsylvania measles deaths were 'fabricated'

Both deceased were unvaccinated; statewide cases reach 424

Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen confirmed the deaths after state investigators reviewed the cases. Both patients were unvaccinated. One was a newborn; Lancaster County Coroner Stephen Diamantoni told the Philadelphia Inquirer that a test on the baby’s lung tissue after death indicated a measles infection acquired before birth, and that he believes the baby died shortly after birth because of a lacerated spleen. Spleen complications are a known consequence of measles infection, said Paul Offit, an infectious diseases physician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “If you have an enlarged spleen and you’re infected with measles virus, the measles virus caused your enlarged spleen. If you then have a splenic rupture which kills you, you die from measles,” Offit said.

Shapiro first pointed to “inaccurate claims” from the highest levels of the U.S. government at a press conference, saying: “There’s real-life consequences to spreading misinformation.” He followed up on X after Kennedy posted vaccine claims, calling them “inaccurate and misleading.” When Kennedy offered to help after the deaths were announced, Shapiro said he asked the health secretary to encourage vaccination and stop spreading misinformation. According to Shapiro, Kennedy responded by repeating vaccine misinformation and saying “it would be better if we went back to ‘natural measles.’” “Secretary Kennedy has stoked confusion amongst parents and others – and the result has been less protection from measles and more cases,” Shapiro added.

Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization Kennedy led until recently, is attempting to identify and reach the families of the dead. Brian Hooker of Children’s Health Defense said in a recent video that the organization is trying to “get boots on the ground” and “do outreach” in Pennsylvania. Hooker also said the Pennsylvania announcement was “a strategic move” ahead of U.S. midterm elections, claiming officials wanted to “get measles deaths on the tip of everybody’s tongue, to get in the forefront.” The organization has previously filmed a misinformation-filled interview with Mennonite parents after a Texas child died of measles last year, and has claimed one of those Texas deaths was due to medical error, not measles — a claim that contradicts findings from local officials.

About 424 Pennsylvanians have confirmed measles cases, and 73 have been hospitalized; none of the sickened were fully vaccinated. Lancaster County, where both deaths occurred, is home to large Amish and Mennonite communities. While these communities do not have religious objections to vaccines, they eschew many parts of modern life and are relatively disconnected from modern healthcare. Infants under six months are too young to be vaccinated against measles, Offit noted, which is one reason vaccinating pregnant parents and others in the community matters.

Pennsylvania notified the CDC of the deaths early Tuesday morning, before the public announcement, Bogen said. The CDC said in a Thursday post on X that it was “working to determine what actually occurred,” including “whether the two reported deaths were caused by measles.” The HHS did not respond to questions about whether Kennedy recommends the vaccine or whether the newly confirmed CDC director, Erica Schwartz, would make a statement about the outbreak and the need for vaccination.

Offit said Kennedy is “an anti-vaccine activist in the role of the most powerful public health person in this country.” “It’s like the world’s turned upside down,” he said. In 2021, Kennedy gave a speech praising Amish parents in Lancaster County for not vaccinating their children, saying “The cure for measles is chicken soup and vitamin A.” There is no cure for measles, only supportive care.

Measles deaths have become rare in the U.S. because of vaccination, but between one and three people usually die with every 1,000 infections. The U.S. is now experiencing its worst measles outbreak in three decades, and it is unusual for measles to spread during summer months. Offit warned that children heading back to school could amplify transmission. “You’re just going to see, I think, an explosion of measles,” he said.

Offit said anti-vaccine activists have been successful in driving down vaccination rates and that the ensuing outbreak “isn’t a good look” for them. More than 35,000 Pennsylvanians got vaccinated against measles last month, an increase of about 10,000 compared with typical months.