Pennsylvania at the center of US measles outbreaks

Pennsylvania at the center of U.S. measles outbreaks

Pennsylvania recorded its sixth measles-related death on Friday, as the state suffers its worst outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease in 35 years.

The state has tallied more than 1,100 cases , though experts think that number is likely much higher. The latest death was reported in a 39-year-old unvaccinated woman in Franklin County, according to the county coroner, who attributed the cause of death to “probable acute cardiac event due to possible complications of the measles.”

The patient had “a recent history” of having contracted measles, the coroner wrote in a Facebook post, adding that it meets the state health department’s definition of a measles-associated death .

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) has been vocal about blaming Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for a decline in measles vaccinations and distrust in the safety of the shots. The state for months insisted it has the resources to combat the outbreak on its own, and Shapiro in August said he declined Kennedy’s offer of assistance.

Local efforts have been paying off. According to state health department statistics, health center staff have administered more than 5,700 MMR vaccinations at 198 pop-up vaccination clinics in the affected communities since the outbreak began in late April.

Providers have also seen a surge of interest from residents seeking MMR vaccinations. In a typical month, Pennsylvania health care providers administer approximately 25,000 doses of the MMR vaccine, the state said. In September, they administered more than 56,000 doses .

Pennsylvania health officials said they have been in contact with staff from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention throughout the outbreak and have discussed how best CDC resources could be focused.

The Pennsylvania health department initiated the process to request emergency Epi-Aid — a team of CDC epidemiologists who can provide outbreak-response support — in a September letter to CDC, but only on the condition that the CDC publicly recognize the state’s death count.

The agency to date has only recognized two deaths , but a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that Pennsylvania has formally requested federal aid.

“CDC will deploy additional support to Pennsylvania to work alongside state and local health officials to investigate the outbreak, strengthen response efforts, and prevent further spread,” the spokesperson said.

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Local and state headlines on healthcare:

Health officials suspect new measles outbreak , this time in Rock County ( Milwaukee Journal Sentinel )

Texas health agency proposes eliminating children’s autism program ( Texas Tribune )

Michigan’s biggest hospitals won’t say how much they collect in facility fees ( Bridge Michigan )

Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets:

‘It’s time to get a vaccine in place’: RFK Jr.’s views helped stall bird flu plan ( Politico )

People say these peptides hurt them . Their stories are muffled in MAHA’s push for medical freedom ( KFF Health News )

He helped discover Ebola 50 years ago. He’s still worried ( New York Times )

Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill: