{"slug":"pennsylvania-measles-deaths-kennedy-fabrication-claim","title":"Kennedy Suggests Pennsylvania Measles Deaths Were 'Fabricated' as CDC Keeps Them Off the National Count During Record Outbreak","date":"2026-08-26","lastUpdated":"2026-09-30","description":"On August 25, 2026, Pennsylvania confirmed two measles-associated deaths of unvaccinated Lancaster County residents, one a newborn infected before birth -- the state's first measles deaths in 35 years. The next day HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly suggested the deaths 'may even have been altogether fabricated by one of the Governor's hopeful staffers.' The CDC then declined to include the Pennsylvania deaths on its national dashboard and shifted to counting measles deaths from National Center for Health Statistics mortality data rather than state reports. By September 30 Pennsylvania had reported five measles-associated deaths and 943 cases, while the CDC's national tally listed two deaths among 3,887 confirmed U.S. cases in 2026; by mid-September the 2026 count was more than double the 2025 count at the same point in the year.","summary":"During the worst U.S. measles year in decades, the federal health secretary publicly questioned whether a state's reported measles deaths were real, and the CDC excluded them from its national count and changed how it counts measles deaths -- a gap a Johns Hopkins expert said 'looks like either incompetence or concealment.'","category":"federal-dismantlement","severity":"major","ongoing":true,"sources":[{"url":"https://abcnews.com/Politics/real-life-consequences-pennsylvania-gov-shapiro-rfk-jr/story?id=136013785","title":"'Real-life consequences': Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro, RFK Jr. spar over measles-associated deaths","publisher":"ABC News"},{"url":"https://www.inquirer.com/health/measles-deaths-pennsylvania-rfk-shapiro-dispute-20260826.html","title":"A newborn baby was one of Pa.'s two measles-related deaths, state says as RFK Jr. questions whether they were 'fabricated'","publisher":"The Philadelphia Inquirer"},{"url":"https://politifact.com/article/2026/sep/01/timeline-measles-deaths-pennslvania-rfk-shapiro/","title":"'Measles-associated deaths': Dissecting the dispute between RFK Jr. and PA Gov. Josh Shapiro","publisher":"PolitiFact"},{"url":"https://www.ksl.com/article/51629939/us-cdc-confirms-two-measles-related-deaths-in-2026","title":"US CDC confirms two measles-related deaths in 2026","publisher":"Reuters (via KSL)"},{"url":"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/30/pennsylvania-confirms-fifth-measles-associated-death-as-us-outbreak-grows","title":"Pennsylvania confirms fifth measles-associated death as US outbreak grows","publisher":"Al Jazeera"},{"url":"https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research","title":"Measles Cases and Outbreaks","publisher":"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention"},{"url":"https://globalbiodefense.com/2026/09/23/united-states-measles-cases-in-2026-already-double-2025-case-count/","title":"U.S. Measles Cases More Than Double 2025 Levels, With South Carolina and Pennsylvania Driving the Surge","publisher":"Global Biodefense"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["measles","RFK Jr","CDC","public health","vaccination","misinformation","Pennsylvania"],"relatedEntries":["hhs-dismantlement-measles-crisis"],"timeline":[{"date":"2026-08-25","title":"Pennsylvania confirms two measles-associated deaths","summary":"Pennsylvania's health department confirms two measles-associated deaths among unvaccinated Lancaster County residents, the state's first measles deaths in 35 years. One was a newborn who contracted measles before birth. HHS and the CDC initially extend condolences."},{"date":"2026-08-26","title":"Kennedy suggests the deaths may be 'fabricated'","summary":"Speaking in Tampa, Kennedy says officials 'cannot find any measles deaths in Lancaster County,' and in a post on X says the announcement 'appears to have been premature, and the deaths may even have been altogether fabricated by one of the Governor's hopeful staffers.' Pennsylvania Health Secretary Debra Bogen responds that both people tested positive for measles."},{"date":"2026-08-27","title":"Coroner clarifies; CDC shifts its position","summary":"Lancaster County Coroner Stephen Diamantoni says measles appears on the newborn's death certificate as a contributing condition, while maintaining that measles did not contribute to the death, which a forensic pathologist attributed to a ruptured spleen. The CDC's X account thanks Kennedy for his 'efforts to clarify conflicting information from Pennsylvania officials' and says the governor's office declined federal assistance."},{"date":"2026-08-30","title":"CDC leaves Pennsylvania deaths off national dashboard","summary":"The CDC declines to include the Pennsylvania deaths in its official measles count, saying available information does not establish whether measles caused or contributed to them."},{"date":"2026-09-29","title":"CDC counts two deaths nationally as Pennsylvania reports four","summary":"The CDC confirms two measles-related U.S. deaths in 2026, using National Center for Health Statistics mortality data rather than state health department reports, while Pennsylvania has reported four. Johns Hopkins' Amesh Adalja warns the gap 'looks like either incompetence or concealment.'"},{"date":"2026-09-30","title":"Pennsylvania confirms fifth death","summary":"Pennsylvania announces a fifth measles-associated death, an unvaccinated Lancaster County resident, with 943 confirmed cases across 39 counties and at least 176 hospitalizations in 2026."}],"location":{"name":"Lancaster County, Pennsylvania","lat":40.0379,"lng":-76.3055},"custom":{"era":"second-term","posture":"reported","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (signed, not ratified by the United States)","article":"Article 12(2)(c)","provision":"Obligation to take steps for the prevention, treatment and control of epidemic diseases"},{"statute":"International Health Regulations (2005)","article":"Articles 6-7","provision":"Obligation to notify and share accurate public health information on events that may constitute a public health risk"}],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Five Pennsylvanians whose deaths the state classified as measles-associated in 2026, including a newborn; their families; the 943 Pennsylvanians and 3,887 people nationwide with confirmed measles in 2026 as of October 1","perpetrators":"HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under his department","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Robert F. Kennedy Jr.","role":"Secretary of Health and Human Services; publicly suggested reported measles deaths may have been fabricated","institution":"U.S. Department of Health and Human Services"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2026-09-30","summary":"Entry created covering the August 25-30, 2026 dispute over Pennsylvania's measles deaths, the CDC's change in death-count methodology, and outbreak figures through September 30."}],"keyPoints":["Pennsylvania confirmed two measles-associated deaths on August 25, 2026, both unvaccinated Lancaster County residents; one was a newborn who contracted measles before birth.","On August 26 Kennedy said officials 'cannot find any measles deaths in Lancaster County' and posted that the deaths 'may even have been altogether fabricated by one of the Governor's hopeful staffers.'","The county coroner said the newborn's immediate cause of death was a ruptured spleen, while noting the baby tested positive for measles; the state says it uses 'measles-associated' when evidence of measles is present even if it is not assessed as the immediate cause of death.","On August 30 the CDC declined to add the Pennsylvania deaths to its national dashboard; it later moved to NCHS mortality data for its national death count.","By September 30 Pennsylvania reported five measles-associated deaths, 943 cases and at least 176 hospitalizations; the CDC listed two U.S. measles deaths and 3,887 cases as of October 1."],"legalBasis":"ICESCR Article 12(2)(c) (control of epidemic diseases), International Health Regulations (2005) Articles 6-7","postureNote":"No legal proceedings. The CDC has said it is working with state epidemiologists on a standard definition of measles-related deaths and that its count is subject to change. The archive does not attribute the deaths themselves to federal action; this entry documents the federal response to them.","relatedIncidents":["hhs-dismantlement-measles-crisis"]}}