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Pennsylvania links four deaths to measles, and the CDC leaves them out of its count
September 20, 2026
Pennsylvania health authorities link four deaths to measles, and the CDC has kept them out of its national total.
The CDC compiles the national measles count from the figures state health authorities report, and Pennsylvania is working through a measles outbreak that has also brought an increase in vaccinations.
Key facts
- Health authorities in Pennsylvania attribute each of the four deaths to measles.
- Pennsylvania has counted four deaths it ties to measles, and the CDC keeps those cases out of the country's running tally, a rift between a state and federal disease officials that public health rarely sees.
NBC News reports a standoff between Pennsylvania and the CDC over measles deaths. Pennsylvania has counted four deaths associated with measles, and the CDC has left those deaths out of the national total it publishes. NBC News describes a standoff of this kind as rare in American public health.
The New York Times carries the same event, tying the Pennsylvania outbreak to a rise in vaccinations. On the substance the two accounts line up: Pennsylvania health authorities attribute all four deaths to measles, and that attribution is where the state and the federal count part ways. Neither account offers a competing figure, so the disagreement sits between the state and the CDC rather than between the outlets.
What is settled is the state's own count of four deaths and the CDC's decision to withhold them from the national figure. What is not settled is how the federal count treats those deaths from here.
Still developing
The Pennsylvania standoff with the CDC over measles deaths not included in the national total stands as the last development at the time of draft.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- NBC News — The escalating standoff between the CDC and Pennsylvania over measles deaths
Toggle read the full reports of 2 of the 3 outlets counted on this event. The other 1 are counted from their headlines and opening sentences.