Lancaster coroner investigating child measles death amid Trump admin scrutiny

The Lancaster coroner’s office is investigating the second case of a child who reportedly died after testing positive for measles as the state faces scrutiny from the Trump administration about the death.

Lancaster County Coroner Stephen Diamantoni confirmed the second diagnosis Tuesday and said his office was “in the process of doing an investigation.”

The coroner’s office will release the cause of death following the conclusion of the investigation, which could take weeks.

The investigation comes a week after Pennsylvania’s Department of Health confirmed in a release that two unvaccinated residents in Lancaster County died from contracting measles, though county officials are unsure if this second case is related to the state’s announcement.

Diamantoni said that he “can’t tell you with certainty this is the death the Department of Health and governor’s office was referring to.”

“We just want to cast as wide a net as possible and identify any deaths that may have occurred in individuals who had measles,” the coroner stated.

Lancaster Commissioner Josh Parsons also confirmed on social media Tuesday that the county coroner’s office “has been working to identify the case” of measles in the state because “the state has still provided zero information on the second case.”

The first death Diamantoni investigated was a newborn baby who his office determined died from measles.

“The forensic pathologist at the autopsy determined the cause of death was the result of a laceration of the spleen and subsequent bleeding,” the coroner added.

The deaths reported by the state and county mark the first measles-related deaths in Pennsylvania in 35 years and the first in the country this year.

Trump administration health officials have disputed claims made by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) that these deaths were related to vaccine misinformation.

Shapiro said at a press conference when the deaths were announced that, “there’s real-life consequences to scaring people and not relying on actual doctors and actual medical professionals to provide unbiased information to parents so that we can make reasonable decisions for our kids.”

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded in an Aug. 25 post , saying, “The Trump administration is working to restore public trust not by gaslighting or manipulating, but by being truthful, at last, with the public.”

“During our phone conversation, Governor Shapiro also accused me of promoting vaccine misinformation,” Kennedy continued. “As I told him, HHS does not tolerate misinformation by any employee.”

Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, even questioned the cause of death in an interview Thursday.

“We don’t know if the children died from measles or had another condition that was already attacking them and they happened to get measles at the same time,” he said.

The Lancaster county coroner’s office did not respond to The Hill’s request for comment on the ongoing investigation.