Pennsylvania health officials confirmed the first two measles deaths in the United States this year, both unvaccinated residents of Lancaster County, marking the state's first measles fatalities in 35 years. The deaths were announced Tuesday as the state's outbreak climbed to nearly 400 confirmed cases.
State Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen declined to release further details about the victims, citing patient confidentiality, but said the deaths underscore how unfamiliar many Americans have become with a disease the country eliminated a generation ago. "Because measles was largely eliminated, people are not familiar with this disease," Bogen said. Lancaster County, home to a large Amish and Mennonite population with historically lower vaccination rates, has been at the center of Pennsylvania's outbreak since cases began climbing earlier this year.
A national outbreak years in the making
Pennsylvania has recorded 393 measles cases this year, 86 of them in the past week alone, with 70 people hospitalized for complications, according to state figures. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has logged 2,777 cases in 2026, already surpassing all of 2025 and making this the worst year for measles since 1991. The U.S. has now recorded more measles deaths in the past two years than in the previous three decades combined, despite declaring the disease eliminated from domestic transmission in 2000.
Health officials trace the resurgence to falling vaccination rates. The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine requires roughly 95% community coverage to prevent sustained outbreaks; in Lancaster County, only about 88% of kindergarteners are up to date on their shots. Pennsylvania has moved to blunt the outbreak by ramping up vaccinations statewide, administering roughly 35,000 doses in recent weeks compared with a typical monthly pace of 25,000.
Governor Josh Shapiro pointed to national vaccine messaging as part of the problem, arguing that mixed signals from federal health officials in Washington have undercut local efforts to keep communities protected. Pennsylvania is not alone: outbreaks have also flared this year in Texas, New Mexico and several other states, part of a broader national pattern health experts attribute to years of slipping childhood immunization rates.
International health officials are due to review the United States' measles-elimination status in November, a designation the country has held since 2000 that could be jeopardized if the current outbreak, one of the largest in decades, is not brought under control before then. For now, Pennsylvania officials say their focus is on getting more residents vaccinated before the virus spreads further heading into the fall school term.
