Pennsylvania Measles Deaths Disputed

Lancaster County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni said one of two measles-associated deaths reported by Pennsylvania health officials was a newborn who died shortly after birth from a ruptured spleen, not from measles. The state health department recorded the two Lancaster County deaths as Pennsylvania’s first measles-associated fatalities in 35 years and said both patients were unvaccinated, while withholding additional details for privacy reasons. Gov. Josh Shapiro said the deaths were preventable through measles vaccination; Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. questioned the state’s framing, and Shapiro rebuked him over vaccine statements.