Kennedy acknowledges one measles death in Pennsylvania
NEW YORK, Sept 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr acknowledged on Friday that measles caused the recent death of an infant in Pennsylvania, citing information from a county coroner, but suggested the federal government would not yet recognize the fatality in official data amid a fast-growing national outbreak.
Last month, Kennedy asked for two measles-related deaths reported by Pennsylvania's health department to be removed from the CDC's national tally of measles, questioning whether the virus was the cause, Reuters reported. CDC staffers had already accepted the state's characterization of the deaths as linked to measles before Kennedy's request.
Public health experts said the move amounted to extraordinary political interference in the authority of a state health department and an effort to minimize the risks of the highly infectious virus.
Kennedy posted on X on Friday that he was relying on information from the coroner in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where the two deaths occurred.
"The Lancaster County Coroner has now publicly stated that measles caused only the second infant's death and has also publicly stated that the infant had Amish lethal microcephaly," Kennedy wrote on X. He said that babies with that condition typically live about 6 months and the infant was approximately 2-months-old at death.
The Lancaster coroner rejected the determination of the statewide health department that a second infant also died from measles, Kennedy said.
Kennedy said the CDC's health statistics agency still needed to receive and review records on measles deaths. At the moment, the national data does not reflect any measles deaths in 2026, he said.
The CDC updated its website on Friday with a note explaining that it was re-evaluating how it classified measles deaths. "This work is intended to promote consistent classification and reporting of measles deaths across jurisdictions," the CDC website said without providing details on why reevaluation was required.
A spokesperson for the Health and Human Services Department, which oversees CDC, did not immediately respond to questions about recording either of the Pennsylvania deaths.
Neil Ruhland, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, reiterated on Friday that the state had confirmed two measles-related deaths in the state's outbreak. He did not provide details on the deaths or comment on Kennedy's remarks. The Lancaster coroner's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
U.S. measles cases have hit their highest level in more than three decades under President Donald Trump and Kennedy, his top health official and a long-time anti-vaccine activist. Kennedy has promoted the idea that vaccines, including the combined measles, mumps and rubella shot, are more dangerous than the diseases they prevent, despite decades of scientific evidence that the shots save lives.
Leading medical organizations say that Kennedy's statements about vaccines and his policies as health secretary, including efforts to reduce the number of government-recommended childhood immunizations, have increased vaccine hesitancy, making outbreaks harder to curb.
(Reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb; Writing by Michele Gershberg; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
