Pennsylvania’s measles-associated death toll rose to four after the state health department confirmed two additional deaths on Sept. 15, 2026 — one in Jefferson County and one involving an 18-year-old in Mifflin County — during the state’s worst measles outbreak in more than three decades.
Two New Deaths Confirmed in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced the two new deaths Sept. 15, bringing the state’s confirmed total to four, following two earlier deaths reported Aug. 25 in Lancaster County. The 18-yearold Mifflin County victim’s cause of death was listed as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, a rare neurological complication, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Both of the newly confirmed deaths involved unvaccinated individuals, the department said. The department has not released identifying details about either victim.
Dr. Debra Bogen, Pennsylvania secretary of health, said, “My thoughts are with the two families who lost loved ones to this highly-contagious virus, as Pennsylvania faces the worst measles outbreak in more than three decades,” according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The fourth death was also reported by Beckers Hospital Review, which noted the deaths mark the first measles fatalities recorded in the state in decades.
Outbreak Numbers in Pennsylvania and Nationwide
Pennsylvania has confirmed 693 measles cases across 38 counties in 2026, according to the
Pennsylvania Department of Health, making this year’s outbreak the state’s worst in more than 30 years.
Nationally, the 2026 measles case count has climbed to roughly 3,294, with 160 new cases reported in the most recent week, according to CIDRAP citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That figure already exceeds all of 2025, when the country recorded 2,289 cases for the full year, by more than 1,000 cases. The 2026 total is the highest in more than three decades and puts pressure on the measles elimination status the United States has held since 2000, according to CIDRAP.
About 95% of this year’s national patients are unvaccinated or have unknown vaccination status, and 8% of patients have required hospitalization, according to CIDRAP. The MMR vaccine is 97% effective after two doses, according to the CDC, a figure cited alongside national case data by CIDRAP.CBS News has mapped the spread of cases across multiple states as the outbreak has grown through the year.
Why State and Federal Death Counts Don’t Match
Pennsylvania’s health department has now confirmed four measles-associated deaths in 2026, but the CDC’s own official national dashboard for the year has not yet added Pennsylvania’s deaths to the federal count, pending its own review. That means the federal tally can currently show a different, lower number of confirmed 2026 U.S. measles deaths than what Pennsylvania is separately reporting.
This is a reporting-lag and verification-standard difference between state and federal health data. State health departments confirm deaths through their own investigative and coroner processes and can report them before the CDC completes its separate review and adds them to the national record. It does not necessarily reflect a dispute over whether the deaths happened, though the timing gap has fueled the political disagreement described below.
Political Dispute Over Vaccine Messaging
The outbreak has become entangled in a dispute between Pennsylvania officials and federal health leadership. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, addressing an earlier disagreement over how the deaths were being acknowledged, said, “RFK chose to sow doubt, play politics, direct the CDC not to acknowledge these deaths, and even accuse me of fabricating these tragedies,” according to Local21News.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded, saying, “The facts emerging now demonstrate why CDC waited for the evidence rather than allowing political grandstanding to dictate its reporting,” according to Local21News.
The dispute traces back in part to the investigative process surrounding one of the earlier Lancaster County cases. Lancaster County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni, describing his office’s work on that case, said, “we want to determine the cause of the laceration. And we may not be able to,” according to City & State Pennsylvania.
What Happens Next
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has said it will continue updating its measles case and death counts as the outbreak continues, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The CDC has said it will continue updating its own national death records as more information becomes available, a process reflected in the ongoing gap between state and federal figures described above.
With 693 cases confirmed across 38 counties in Pennsylvania and national case counts still climbing week over week, according to CIDRAP, health officials at both levels are expected to keep revising their public data as the outbreak progresses.
