Updated ,first published
Washington: Two unvaccinated people died with measles in the US state of Pennsylvania, becoming the first deaths there linked to the disease in 35 years, amid a growing national outbreak.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Health announced the deaths on Tuesday (US time), and warned that the return of measles after a decades-long absence meant people did not grasp its severity.
It comes as US President Donald Trump and his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, continue to sow doubts about vaccines, including by pushing an unsubstantiated link with autism.
This month, Trump signed an executive order that called for parents to space out their children’s vaccine visits and break up the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jab – which is not currently possible.
Both deaths were in Lancaster County – an area of southern Pennsylvania with a large Amish population, which has historically had lower rates of vaccination. The department would not release further information about the deceased.
So far in 2026, Pennsylvania has detected 393 cases of measles in 28 counties. Across the US, there have been 2777 confirmed cases this year, spanning most states and Washington DC.
Tuesday’s announcement marked the first time people died from measles in Pennsylvania in 35 years. They are also the first US deaths from the disease this year. Last year, three Americans died, following nearly a decade of zero deaths.
Pennsylvania’s health secretary, Debra Bogen, said the virtual elimination of measles in the state for more than three decades meant “people are not familiar with this disease and don’t fully understand the potential severity of the illness”.
The best way to protect against measles was vaccination, she said, with two doses of the MMR vaccine providing 97 per cent lifetime protection.
The number of measles cases recorded this year has already eclipsed last year’s total of 2289. Nearly 50 per cent were among young people aged five to 19, and 94 per cent were among people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown, according to the Centres for Disease Control.
The 2025 and 2026 figures are the highest measles numbers in decades, with only a 2019 outbreak (1274 cases) coming close.
Earlier in August, Trump urged parents to break up the MMR vaccine into three separate shots, even though that is not currently enabled by the medical profession or the pharmaceutical industry.
In a subsequent briefing with reporters, US officials said they would work with the private sector to try to make separate doses available.
At a televised news conference in the Oval Office, Trump said the US was recommending too many vaccines. He claimed without evidence that the MMR vaccine could be “quite lethal”, but when given separately, “it looks like they are not at all lethal but just every effective”.
The US president also falsely spoke of an “explosion” in vaccine injury, and claimed that doctors were injecting children with large doses that looked like “a bottle of soda poured into a little child’s body”.
Trump’s executive order did not mention autism. But in his unscripted remarks, he asserted an unproven link between vaccination and higher rates of autism diagnoses in modern times.
“There’s a reason for such epidemic rates of autism, and we’re going to bring it back to much closer to where it was,” he said.
The president’s order does not change vaccine requirements for schools, or impact the policies of state health departments. Rather, it stands as a recommendation from the US federal government.
Following Trump’s announcement, the American Medical Association said that altering the proven childhood vaccination schedule without credible evidence risked weakening public confidence in vaccines, and putting children’s health at risk.
“Extensive evidence from decades of scientific studies shows no link between vaccines and autism,” president Willie Underwood said. “Putting our children’s health at risk is not an option.”
When contacted for comment, the US Department of Health and Human Services pointed to a statement from the Centres for Disease Control which offered condolences following the two “measles-associated deaths”.
“The MMR vaccine provides the most effective protection against measles and helps prevent its spread,” it said. “CDC will continue to follow Pennsylvania’s lead and provide resources to support the state’s response.”
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via X or email.
