CDC reported then deleted two measles deaths that were questioned by RFK Jr.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is excluding two measles deaths reported by Pennsylvania health officials last week from its latest update of national measles data.
Historically, state health departments determine cases and deaths, not the CDC.
The New York Times reported Monday that the CDC’s new director, Erica Schwartz, is behind the decision . Schwartz—less than a month into the job—reportedly ordered CDC staff to add an unusual statement onto the CDC’s website for measles surveillance data . The statement notes that the update will not include the deaths reported by Pennsylvania and continues: “At this time, available information does not establish whether measles caused or contributed to the deaths or whether the individuals died from other causes while infected with measles.”
The Washington Post reported Monday that the CDC had actually changed the information provided on that page multiple times over the weekend. On August 29 at 2:33 pm ET, the website listed the total measles deaths for 2026 as “0” in a chart. On August 30 at 12:09 pm ET, the chart was updated to list the total deaths for 2026 as “2.” There was also a note underneath the chart that read: “Health departments make determinations about measles-associated deaths and share relevant information with CDC.” By 3:23 pm ET on August 30, the chart was changed again to delete the two deaths, replacing them with an asterisk as a reference to the unusual statement about the deaths not being included. The asterisk and statement remain as of Tuesday.
The move comes after anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got into a public spat with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro over Kennedy’s anti-vaccine rhetoric. Kennedy then shared measles misinformation on social media amid news of the deaths, then suggested without evidence that the state may have “fabricated” the deaths and that the governor announced them with “giddy delight.”
State health officials initially refused to release information about the two people who died, including their ages, citing privacy concerns. But news has since trickled out that one of the people who died was a newborn and, according to reporting Tuesday by the Times , the other was a child. Both were unvaccinated and from Lancaster County. Outside medical experts have criticized the lack of information provided by health officials, leaving more space for doubt and misinformation.
