Key facts
- Pennsylvania is seeking emergency assistance from the CDC for a measles outbreak.
- The state's request is conditional on the CDC publicly recognizing four measles-associated deaths.
- Pennsylvania's Secretary of Health Debra Bogen communicated this condition in a letter to the CDC director.
- Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has questioned the cause of measles-related deaths and previously excluded Pennsylvania's fatalities from national counts.
- Pennsylvania has confirmed 731 measles cases and four deaths this year.
- The US is experiencing its most severe measles resurgence in over three decades.
Pennsylvania is requesting emergency assistance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to combat a significant measles outbreak across the state. The state's Department of Health has initiated the process for an Epi-Aid, a form of federal support, but has set a condition: the CDC must publicly acknowledge four measles-associated deaths reported by Pennsylvania. Debra Bogen, Pennsylvania's Secretary of Health, stated in a letter to CDC Director Erica Schwartz that the federal agency's "choice not to publicly recognize the deaths undermines our response." If the CDC cannot "transparently and accurately communicate information about those measles-associated deaths," Bogen warned, Pennsylvania will withdraw its request for assistance.
The situation is complicated by an ongoing dispute between Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. regarding the handling of the outbreak and the counting of measles-related fatalities. Kennedy has reportedly questioned whether recent deaths were directly caused by measles and previously instructed the CDC not to include Pennsylvania's reported fatalities in the national death count, a move health experts have described as "highly unusual."
This development marks a shift for Pennsylvania, which had previously resisted federal aid, believing it could manage the outbreak independently. However, the situation has worsened, with 731 measles cases confirmed in 38 counties this year, and four deaths reported as of Tuesday. The US is currently experiencing its most severe measles resurgence in over three decades, largely attributed to increasing vaccine hesitancy. Reports this month also indicated that the Trump administration changed its methodology for counting measles deaths amid the Pennsylvania outbreak, now using data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).