RFK Jr. accepts PA child died of measles, says Shapiro hastily ‘politicized’ death

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. acknowledged Friday that measles caused the death of an infant in Pennsylvania, after previously questioning the state’s reporting of two measles-related deaths amid a growing outbreak.

Kennedy pointed to findings from Lancaster County coroner Stephen Diamantoni, who confirmed Friday that the six-week-old child died from measles last month.

“The Lancaster County Coroner has now publicly stated that measles caused only the second infant’s death,” Kennedy wrote on social media .

The child was born with Amish lethal microcephaly, a rare genetic disorder that can lead to viral infections and typically results in death within months of birth.

In a post on social media, Kennedy fired back at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) after he accused Kennedy of directing the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) to not acknowledge the deaths in federal data.

“Instead of listening to the real doctors and public health experts, RFK chose to sow doubt, play politics, direct the CDC not to acknowledge these deaths, and even accuse me of fabricating these tragedies,” Shapiro wrote on the social platform X .

Kennedy had previously questioned whether the virus was the cause of the two deaths and asked that the cases reported by Pennsylvania’s health department be removed from the CDC’s national tally.

“The facts emerging now demonstrate why CDC waited for the evidence rather than allowing political grandstanding to dictate its reporting,” Kennedy wrote in a response Friday. “Governor Shapiro, by contrast, politicized these two tragic deaths before the underlying causes had been established.”

Pennsylvania health officials announced last week that two unvaccinated individuals had died in connection to the state’s measles outbreak, which has sickened 577 people and hospitalized 98.

The coroner drew a distinction between the two cases, which both involved infants.

In one case, a forensic pathologist determined the infant had died from a ruptured spleen and did not conclude that measles caused the death. In the second case, Diamantoni said a review of the 6-week-old infant’s medical records established that measles was the cause of death.

“The National Center for Health Statistics does not currently have any death records from 2026 that indicate measles is the underlying cause but will update as it receives and reviews submitted records,” Kennedy said, adding that the CDC will continue to update its records as more information becomes available.