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CDC confirms a second measles death as the Pennsylvania outbreak reaches 903 cases
September 30, 2026
The CDC confirmed a second US measles death on Tuesday while Pennsylvania, whose own tally lists four deaths, reported 903 cases this year.
Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, and the country has recorded more cases in 2026 than in any year since, with Pennsylvania leading in outbreaks.
ABC News reports that Pennsylvania confirmed at least 13 new cases since Friday, lifting its count for the year to 903, with at least 176 people hospitalized and four deaths the state links to measles. According to ABC News, two of those who died were unvaccinated adults aged 18 and 40, and two were infants too young for the MMR vaccine. The New York Times, working from an earlier state update, puts the total at 890 across 39 counties and notes that the state set up 165 pop-up clinics, which have given out more than 5,300 M.M.R. shots. Patel said, “People who have been exposed may be instructed to quarantine or keep really close eye on their symptoms for up to 21 days because that's how long it can really take for measles to show itself and you could potentially spread and infect others without even knowing it.”
The federal count is lower. The Guardian reports that the CDC announced a second US death on Tuesday, with 3,659 confirmed cases nationally as of 24 September, and did not say where either death happened. The Washington Post reports that the CDC left Pennsylvania's first deaths out of its weekly tally, a choice the Post ties to the agency's new director, Erica Schwartz, and a break from the usual reliance on state health departments. “Through its standard process, NCHS verified that the death occurred and that measles was listed as the underlying cause of death,” Emily Hilliard said, according to The Washington Post.
The Guardian and The Washington Post both place the gap between the state and federal figures inside a feud between Governor Josh Shapiro and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The New York Times describes the dispute as a disagreement over whether some deaths resulted from measles or only coincided with it. The rising Pennsylvania case count is well documented; which deaths the CDC counts, and where they occurred, is not.
Still developing
What is known about where the deaths the CDC confirmed occurred was still coming in at the time of this draft.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos — Pennsylvania surpasses 900 measles cases with 13 new confirmed infections: Officials
- The New York Times — Pennsylvania Measles Outbreak Grows to Nearly 900 Cases - The New York Times
- The Guardian — CDC reports second measles death in US while excluding Pennsylvania deaths
- The Washington Post — CDC updates measles toll, now counts 2 deaths - The Washington Post
Toggle read the full reports of all 5 outlets counted on this event.