US Records First Measles Deaths of the Year in Pennsylvania
Two unvaccinated residents of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, have died from measles, marking the first US measles deaths this year amid a 35-year high in nationwide case numbers.
Pennsylvania's health department confirmed Tuesday that two unvaccinated residents of Lancaster County, a south-central area with a large Amish population, died after contracting measles. No further personal details were released to protect their privacy. These are the first measles-related deaths recorded in the United States this year.
Pennsylvania has logged 393 measles cases in 2026, with about half concentrated in Lancaster County. Only Utah and South Carolina have reported more cases nationally. Governor Josh Shapiro called measles a serious and growing problem at a press conference, stressing that illness and death from the disease are entirely preventable given existing tools.
Nearly 20 percent of those infected in Pennsylvania have required hospitalization. Measles can cause severe complications including pneumonia, the leading cause of death among children who contract the virus, as well as encephalitis, which can result in deafness or intellectual disability.
Vaccination rates falling
Nationwide, nearly 2,800 measles cases have been recorded this year, up from 2,289 in 2025 and far above the 285 cases seen in 2023. CDC data show vaccination coverage among kindergartners fell for every reported vaccine during the past school year, while non-medical exemption requests climbed to a record 4.2 percent. Because measles is highly contagious, 95 percent of a community must be vaccinated to prevent outbreaks — but only 87 percent of incoming kindergartners in Lancaster County are fully vaccinated.
Shapiro pointed to vaccine misinformation as a main driver of cases in Pennsylvania, noting the MMR vaccine is 97 percent effective when both doses are administered. State health workers have run 91 pop-up vaccination clinics this year, administering over 4,100 doses, a quarter of them in Lancaster County.
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has promoted vaccine skepticism, linked the outbreaks to religious communities that don't vaccinate. Shapiro countered that measles has been traced to 28 counties across Pennsylvania, making it unfair to blame a single community. The governor also said he declined an offer of help from Kennedy, telling him the administration's rhetoric was harming communities nationwide.
Amid the surge, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to split the combined MMR vaccine into separate shots, potentially requiring up to six doctor visits to complete the series. More than 210 medical organizations warned the change would leave children less protected.
