Two unvaccinated people die of measles in Pennsylvania

Two unvaccinated Pennsylvania residents have died of measles, the state Health Department said Tuesday, marking the state’s first measles deaths in 35 years and the first such deaths reported in the United States this year.

Both people lived in Lancaster County, the center of Pennsylvania’s expanding measles outbreak. State officials released no further information about them.

“My deepest sympathies are with the loved ones who are facing this unimaginable loss,” Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen said in a statement. “Because measles was largely eliminated in the Commonwealth for more than three decades, people are not familiar with this disease and don’t fully understand the potential severity of the illness.”

Pennsylvania had confirmed 393 measles cases as of Tuesday, including 86 diagnosed in the past week, according to NBC News. The state has recorded cases across 28 counties, with nearly half in southern Lancaster County, The Guardian reported. Seventy people in Pennsylvania have been hospitalized with measles complications.

“As a physician, I want to make sure that people understand that the MMR vaccine is safe and provides the best protection we have against measles,” Bogen said, referring to the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.

Measles is among the most contagious diseases known to medicine and is preventable with vaccination. The disease kills one to three people for every 1,000 infected, according to The Guardian, and can cause short- and long-term complications including pneumonia and brain swelling. Up to 20% of infected people may be hospitalized.

The MMR vaccine is given in two doses, typically around age 1 and age 5, and provides 97% protection against measles, usually for life, according to NBC News.

The Pennsylvania deaths were announced one day after Maryland declared a measles outbreak in St. Mary’s, Carroll and Cecil counties. Maryland has 31 confirmed cases. New York officials also urged residents Monday to get vaccinated, citing an increase in cases in rural areas around the capital region, central New York and western New York.

“The overall risk remains low if you are fully vaccinated,” Maryland Health Secretary Dr. Meena Seshamani said in a statement. “We ask that Marylanders join us in our effort to help keep our youngest safe and protect those who are most at risk. Checking your vaccination status and getting vaccinated if you are not up-to-date is the simplest and most effective way to do that.”

The deaths come amid rising measles activity nationally and declining vaccination rates in some areas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 2,777 measles cases nationwide this year, the highest number in 35 years in the U.S., according to NBC News. As of Aug. 20, 193 people with measles, about 7% of cases, had been hospitalized this year. Most infected people are unvaccinated.

In Lancaster County, the share of children receiving the MMR vaccine has fallen from 95.5% in 2017 to 87.6% in 2025, according to NBC News. CDC data also show that during the 2025-26 school year, 4.2% of kindergartners — about 155,000 children — had at least one vaccine exemption, up from 3.6% the previous school year.

The Guardian reported that the CDC data showed the largest one-year increase in requests for vaccine exemptions, along with a longer decline in vaccination rates, particularly for measles.

NBC News reported that earlier this month President Donald Trump signed an executive order intended to reduce the number of vaccines recommended for children, a move backed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and criticized by pediatricians and public health experts. The Guardian reported that Trump and Kennedy also held a press conference linking vaccines to autism, a claim from the anti-vaccine movement that has been repeatedly debunked by scientific studies.

Three people died of measles last year: an adult in New Mexico and two young girls in Texas, NBC News reported.