Technology and Science03 September, 20263 min read
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Pressures CDC Director Erica Schwartz To Remove Pennsylvania Measles Deaths
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Kennedy asked the new CDC director to remove two Pennsylvania measles deaths from tally. CDC staff had already accepted Pennsylvania's measles-death classification before removal.
CDC tally dispute
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked new CDC director Erica Schwartz to remove a reference to two Pennsylvania deaths from the agency’s online measles tally, after Kennedy questioned whether measles contributed to the fatalities.
Reuters reported that CDC staff had already accepted the state’s characterization of the deaths as linked to measles, but Schwartz implemented Kennedy’s directive without objection, according to three sources familiar with the situation.
The CDC said in a release that “At this time, available information does not establish whether measles caused or contributed to the deaths,” while the HHS spokesperson provided to MS NOW called the Reuters report “false and misleading.”
The dispute followed Pennsylvania’s announcement that two unvaccinated people in Lancaster County died after contracting measles, with the measles-related deaths described as the first in the state in more than three decades and the first measles deaths in the U.S. this year.
In Lancaster County, coroner Stephen Diamantoni told local news affiliates that he was investigating a child who tested positive for measles, saying, “Just today, we received a report of another child who died with measles.”
Doctors and officials clash
The controversy drew condemnation from Pennsylvania doctors, with Dr. Paul Offit telling The Independent, “I’ve lost trust in the CDC,” and saying there was “an attempt, frankly, to downplay the instance of measles and to downplay the measles deaths in that county.”
Dr. Deb Houry, the CDC Chief Medical Officer under Trump who resigned last August, told The Independent that “two people died. That is tragic and should be addressed,” and argued that the process should be the same “Whether you live in a blue, purple, or red state.”
The Hill described the CDC’s move as a “radical departure from the agency’s normal practice of accepting and including a state’s data,” noting that the CDC’s website update was delayed until Sunday and then edited multiple times.
The Hill also quoted Grace Davis Jamison saying, “CDC is committed to providing the public with accurate information,” and that the two measles-associated deaths “have not been confirmed based on the information currently available to CDC.”
In the same reporting, Shapiro said the information coming from the federal government “isn’t driven by facts and by science,” while Kennedy wrote on X that Shapiro’s “giddy delight in announcing two measles deaths” was “morose.”
What’s at stake next
The dispute centered on how the CDC would treat deaths tied to measles while it reviewed “additional information regarding the circumstances and causes of death,” with the CDC’s website adding an asterisk and stating it would update the national count as more information became available. MS NOW reported that the HHS spokesperson said CDC officials made the decision regarding the measles reporting and that “CDC has a responsibility to ensure its reporting accurately distinguishes between what is known and what remains unconfirmed.” CIDRAP reported that Pennsylvania’s DOH measles dashboard showed two fatalities, 91 hospitalizations, and 540 cases in the current outbreak, while the state had recorded 43 cases alone this week.
Ars Technica reported that CDC staff deleted the two deaths from public data at Kennedy’s request, but that an internal database called “One CDC Data Platform” still included the two deaths, according to a screenshot reportedly verified by CDC staff. As the CDC and Pennsylvania continued to exchange information, Reuters said the CDC’s decision came as the measles outbreak in Pennsylvania reached 540 cases, and Georges Benjamin called it “unheard of” for the CDC to publicly raise doubts about state and local health departments’ conclusions.