Shapiro slams RFK Jr. as not ‘connected or grounded in reality’ on measles outbreak

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) accused Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday of not taking adequate steps to address a growing measles outbreak in the U.S.

The governor blamed the secretary, a vaccine skeptic, for the downtick in measles immunizations in the country during an appearance on CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins.”

“He doesn’t believe that measles is an issue,” Shapiro said. “When I spoke to him over the phone, he wanted to lecture me about natural measles, and in many ways, making excuses.

“He blamed Joe Biden for all of this,” Shapiro continued. “I mean, he is someone who is not, I think, connected or grounded in reality.”

The Hill has reached out to the HHS for comment.

This week, Pennsylvania’s health department reported its fourth measles-related death this year. Since January, there have been 731 total cases, including 117 new cases in the last week, according to state data .

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not currently report any deaths from measles. In a note on its website dashboard tracking the disease outbreak, the CDC says the National Center for Health Statistics “does not currently have any death records from 2026 that indicate measles is the underlying cause.”

The CDC has reported 3,294 confirmed measles cases across 47 states, including Pennsylvania.

After Pennsylvania health authorities reported two measles-associated deaths among unvaccinated people in August, Kennedy suggested the fatalities were fabricated to score political points.

“The performance was a replay of the Democrats’ COVID playbook: fearmongering, misinformation, finger-pointing, and the weaponization of infectious disease fears for political gain,” Kennedy wrote in a social media post .

On Wednesday evening, Shapiro slammed the Trump administration for not acknowledging the deaths in Pennsylvania.

“They won’t even acknowledge these deaths on their dashboard, something that should have been an administrative process, because it doesn’t fit their phony narrative,” the governor said. “I think RFK is doing great destruction in this country by stoking this vaccine skepticism.”

Shapiro said he would not accept additional federal assistance until the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognizes the deaths in Pennsylvania.

“I will not allow any other federal officials to come here in Pennsylvania until RFK stops meddling in the process and acknowledges the four deaths here in Pennsylvania, something he has directed his subordinates here at HHS not to acknowledge on their dashboard,” the governor said.