First two U.S. measles outbreak victims of 2026 were unvaccinated, Pennsylvania officials say
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 2,777 measles infections this year through Aug. 20, already surpassing a 35-year high
Two unvaccinated people in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, have died from measles, marking the first measles-related deaths in the United States this year, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The deaths are also the first measles fatalities in Pennsylvania in 35 years.
The individuals who died were residents of Lancaster County, but their identities and further details have not been released by the Department of Health to protect their privacy.
There have been 393 confirmed cases of measles in Pennsylvania this year, across 28 counties. Nationwide, there have been 2,813 cases reported so far this year, according to the Johns Hopkins U.S. Measles Tracker, already exceeding the total number of measles cases reported in 2025, which was 2,289.
Brief written by urgent.news from National Post, Live Science, Ars Technica, Ars Technica Health, Sky News Tech — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
