Overview
- State officials announced on Tuesday that two additional measles-associated deaths raised Pennsylvania’s total to four and that the outbreak has expanded to about 731 cases in the state.
- The Pennsylvania Department of Health says all four deaths were in unvaccinated people, including two infants too young for vaccination, an 18-year-old who died of a rare measles-related brain inflammation, and a 40-year-old who died of respiratory failure.
- The CDC has not included the Pennsylvania deaths in its national measles-death tally and is reviewing how it classifies and reports measles fatalities, creating a federal–state discrepancy over the counts.
- Pennsylvania is increasing MMR access through pop-up clinics and outreach and urges two-dose vaccination as the primary tool to stop transmission and prevent more hospitalizations.
- Public-health experts warn that falling MMR coverage and rising nonmedical exemptions have left communities vulnerable and that the surge could affect the U.S. measles-elimination standing when international agencies review it later this year.