Health secretary suggested two Pennsylvania deaths were ‘fabricated’
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is not including two measles-related deaths reported by Pennsylvania in its national count while it reviews the cases, according to an agency note posted Sunday and reported by The Guardian. The decision marks a departure from how the agency handled three measles deaths reported by Texas and New Mexico last year, which were included in the federal count without comparable review.
The CDC said in the note that it would not include the two Pennsylvania deaths “while CDC reviews additional information regarding the circumstances and causes of death.” The agency added that “available information does not establish whether measles caused or contributed to the deaths or whether the individuals died from other causes while infected with measles.” The Guardian reported that the agency’s measles landing page was updated twice over the weekend — first listing the deaths and then replacing them with an asterisk.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suggested the deaths were “fabricated.” In a recent Fox News interview, Kennedy said: “In 10 years, there have been three measles deaths in America,” comparing that figure with deaths from “food-induced illness” — a category the CDC does not appear to track. Kennedy said he was attempting to “redirect attention and resource [sic] to the thing that’s really killing Americans, which are foodborne diseases.”
Debra Houry, the former CDC chief medical officer, called the exclusion “highly unusual.” Houry noted that the three deaths reported from measles in Texas and New Mexico last year were added to the federal count without the kind of pre-publication review Pennsylvania’s cases are now receiving. Under typical practice, Houry said, “states notify CDC of reportable cases on things such as measles. CDC does not review or adjudicate these cases unless a state asked for additional assistance.” She added: “This will undermine that relationship.”
Houry also criticized the agency’s public communication. “The communication coming from CDC’s official channel on Friday was political and not focused on what should be done during an outbreak,” she said. The CDC has not clarified what information it is seeking about the Pennsylvania cases or why earlier data was not acceptable. An HHS spokesperson told The Guardian on X that the agency is “working to determine what actually occurred.”
Pennsylvania reported the two measles-related deaths in August, including at least one newborn who died shortly after birth. An Amish couple in Lancaster county told The Atlantic, as recounted by The Guardian, that their newborn son died immediately after birth; the mother, who was severely ill with measles, went into labor one month early. The baby was born with a pulse but was not breathing, and paramedics were unable to resuscitate him.
The mother told The Atlantic she was concerned about rising measles cases but was unable to get vaccinated because she was pregnant. The US has recently fallen below the threshold to keep measles outbreaks in check — a benchmark that would protect vulnerable infants, pregnant people and others at particular risk. The father said he had received a voicemail asking him to get in touch with Kennedy but had not responded.
In 2021, Kennedy, then the leader of the anti-vaccine organization Children’s Health Defense, praised the Amish of Lancaster county for not vaccinating their children. Although the Amish do not have any formal religious objection to vaccines, they are frequently disconnected from the healthcare system.
The Guardian reported that Kennedy did not appear to comment on two deaths from a cyclospora outbreak that sickened more than 17,000 Americans this summer, telling Fox News only that the outbreak was “under control.” Foodborne illnesses typically fall under the umbrella of infectious disease.