Key facts
- New York health officials announced late Monday that a child in the state died of measles.
- The death is the first measles-associated death reported in New York in more than 30 years, the report said.
- It is the seventh measles-linked death reported in the US in 2026, with six of the others in Pennsylvania.
- Pennsylvania's outbreak has stricken over 1,430 people in 2026, according to the report.
- New York has reported 170 measles cases across more than a dozen counties, the report said.
- The Washington Post reported that CDC scientists were blocked from publishing a health alert on measles during pregnancy.
A child in New York died of measles, state health officials announced late Monday, the first measles-associated death reported in New York in more than 30 years. The report did not give the child's age or the date of death.
The death is the seventh measles-linked death reported in the US in 2026, according to the report. Six of the other deaths were reported in Pennsylvania, which the report says is experiencing an outbreak that has stricken over 1,430 people in 2026. Pennsylvania had not seen a measles-related death in 35 years before those deaths, the report said.
New York has reported 170 measles cases across more than a dozen counties, the report said. New York Governor Kathy Hochul tied the death to the vaccine policies of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying the child's death was "a devastating reminder of what's at stake when Washington deliberately erodes decades of progress in protecting Americans from preventable illnesses." She also said she was "heartbroken" and sent condolences to the family.
The report said slipping vaccination rates nationwide, which it linked to health misinformation and anti-vaccine sentiment, are fueling outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. It said Kennedy, described as US health secretary, has attacked vaccines and spread misinformation, and that since taking office he has moved to dismantle and obstruct federal vaccine recommendations and promote alleged vaccine injuries.
The Washington Post reported that career scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were blocked from publishing an urgent health alert to clinicians on the risk and management of measles cases during pregnancy, according to the report. The report said measles infections during pregnancy pose severe, life-threatening risks to both pregnant people and fetuses, and that CDC scientists wanted to issue an informational advisory through the CDC's Health Alert Network.