Pennsylvania has asked the CDC for an Epi‑Aid as a major measles outbreak spreads across 38 counties, reporting 731 confirmed cases and four measles‑associated deaths. State Health Secretary Debra Bogen told the CDC the request will be rescinded unless the agency publicly acknowledges the four fatalities. The move comes amid disputes over how deaths are being counted and public debate involving Governor Josh Shapiro and vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Health officials warn the outbreak reflects a nationwide resurgence fueled by vaccine hesitancy.
Pennsylvania Requests CDC Epi‑Aid as Measles Outbreak Widens — State Demands Public Acknowledgement of Four Deaths
A tray containing the MMR vaccine at a vaccine clinic on 1 March 2025 in Lubbock, Texas.Photograph: Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images
Pennsylvania has formally asked the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for emergency epidemiologic assistance (an Epi‑Aid) as a large measles outbreak continues to spread across the state. State health officials say they will withdraw the request unless the CDC publicly acknowledges four measles‑associated deaths that Pennsylvania has reported.
What the state requested
According to a letter reviewed by The Guardian and first reported by Reuters, Debra Bogen, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health, told CDC Director Erica Schwartz that the CDC’s failure to publicly recognize the four deaths is undermining the state’s response. In the letter, Bogen wrote that if the CDC cannot "transparently and accurately communicate information about those measles‑associated deaths," the department would rescind its Epi‑Aid request.
Scope of the outbreak
On Wednesday the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 731 confirmed measles cases this year across 38 counties and said four people have died of measles‑related illness as of Tuesday. State officials describe this outbreak as among the largest and deadliest in the United States in recent decades.
Political and technical tensions
The request comes amid public disagreements involving Governor Josh Shapiro and vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (who has publicly questioned whether recent deaths were caused directly by measles or by other underlying conditions). The published reporting incorrectly described Kennedy as the US health secretary; he is a prominent vaccine critic, not a federal health official.
Those disputes have overlapped with federal data‑reporting issues. The CDC has shifted to using National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) data to count measles deaths, a methodology the agency says is useful for tracking mortality trends over time. Reporting did not make clear why the change was made or why the agency has not publicly included Pennsylvania’s reported fatalities in the national measles death tally.
"The CDC's choice not to publicly recognize the deaths undermines our response," Bogen wrote in the letter.
Responses and implications
The CDC did not immediately respond to The Guardian’s request for comment. Public health experts have warned that excluding or downplaying measles fatalities could lead the public to underestimate the risks associated with the disease.
Senator Bill Cassidy, chair of the Senate Health Committee, blamed what he described as a vaccine‑skeptical approach during the prior administration for contributing to the severity of the outbreak, according to reporting cited in the article.
Context
The resurgence of measles in the US has been driven largely by declining vaccination coverage and growing vaccine hesitancy in some communities. Public health officials emphasize that vaccination remains the most effective tool to prevent measles, which is highly contagious and can be fatal.
Help us improve.
