Pennsylvania has confirmed four measles-related deaths in 2026, the most of any single US state since 1992, while the CDC’s official national dashboard still lists zero confirmed 2026 measles deaths after excluding Pennsylvania’s cases pending further review. All four Pennsylvania deaths involved unvaccinated residents, including two infants who died in Lancaster County in August.
Measles Deaths by State – Introduction
Measles deaths by state in 2026 have become concentrated in a single place: Pennsylvania, which has now confirmed four fatalities tied to the disease, more than any state has recorded in a single year since 1992. That toll arrives amid the worst national measles resurgence since the disease’s elimination in 2000, with cases nationwide already topping 3,294 as of early September, and it has exposed a genuinely unusual rift between state and federal health authorities over how, and whether, to officially count these deaths.
What makes Pennsylvania’s death toll especially notable is not just its size but the controversy surrounding its federal recognition. The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed its first two deaths, both infants, using the same investigation process Texas followed when it reported the nation’s first measles deaths in a decade back in 2025. This time, however, CDC leadership publicly questioned the state’s determinations and left the deaths off the national tally, a divergence from standard protocol that has drawn sharp criticism from Pennsylvania’s governor and public health researchers. Understanding exactly which states have recorded measles deaths in 2026, how those numbers compare to 2025, and why the federal count differs from what states themselves have confirmed requires looking closely at both the medical and administrative record.
Interesting Facts
| Fact | Figure |
|---|---|
| State With the Most 2026 Measles Deaths | Pennsylvania (4 deaths) |
| CDC’s Official National 2026 Death Count | 0 (as of September 15, 2026) |
| Last Year the US Recorded 4+ Measles Deaths | 1992 |
| Total 2025 US Measles Deaths (Full Year) | 3 (2 Texas, 1 New Mexico) |
| Pennsylvania 2026 Measles Cases | 693 (as of September 15, 2026) |
| Pennsylvania’s First Measles Deaths in | 35 years |
| Share of 2026 Deaths Involving Unvaccinated Individuals | 100% |
| Pre-Vaccine Era US Measles Deaths (Annual, pre-1963) | 400 to 500 per year |
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Health, CDC Measles Cases and Outbreaks, CNN, STAT News
These interesting facts about measles deaths by state reveal a national death count sitting at an unusual crossroads between state-confirmed and federally recognized figures. Pennsylvania’s four confirmed deaths represent the highest single-state annual total in 34 years, yet the CDC’s own public dashboard still shows zero deaths for 2026 nationally, a gap that stems from an active dispute over data verification rather than any question about whether the deaths themselves occurred.
Every one of Pennsylvania’s four 2026 deaths involved an unvaccinated individual, consistent with the pattern seen in 2025’s three deaths, split between Texas and New Mexico. That 100% unvaccinated rate among fatal cases underscores how directly measles mortality in the current outbreak traces back to gaps in MMR vaccination coverage rather than vaccine breakthrough infections.
Measles Deaths by State in 2026
| State | Confirmed 2026 Measles Deaths | 2026 Case Count (as of Sept 15) |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 4 | 693 |
| Texas | 0 | 192 (as of Sept 10) |
| South Carolina | 0 | 670 (as of Sept 10) |
| Utah | 0 | 526 (as of Sept 10) |
| All Other States | 0 | Varies |
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Health, CDC Measles Cases and Outbreaks
Pennsylvania stands alone as the only state to report a confirmed measles death in 2026, a distinction made more striking by the fact that other states with comparably large or even larger case counts, including South Carolina at 670 cases and Utah at 526 cases, have reported no fatalities at all this year. That divergence illustrates how death outcomes depend heavily on the specific demographics of who becomes infected, particularly the presence of infants, unvaccinated pregnant individuals, and other high-risk groups within a given outbreak, rather than case volume alone.
COVID-19 Deaths by State in US tracking a separate but methodologically comparable state-by-state mortality dataset shows how unevenly death tolls from any infectious disease outbreak can distribute even when case counts are broadly similar across states. Pennsylvania’s outbreak, concentrated heavily in Lancaster County, which alone accounts for 185 of the state’s 693 cases, appears to have reached a particularly vulnerable population subset, a pattern epidemiologists are still working to fully characterize as the outbreak continues.
Pennsylvania’s Four Measles Deaths in 2026
| Victim | Age | County | Date of Death | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newborn boy | Infant (newborn) | Lancaster | August 14, 2026 | Ruptured spleen; congenital measles infection listed as contributing |
| Infant girl | 6 weeks old | Lancaster | August 18, 2026 | Died at home |
| Adult woman | 40 years old | Jefferson | ~September 13, 2026 | Measles complications (coroner-confirmed) |
| Teenager | 18 years old | Mifflin | ~September 2026 | Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) |
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Health, CNN, History of Vaccines (College of Physicians of Philadelphia)
The first two Pennsylvania deaths, both infants from Lancaster County, were confirmed by the state health department on August 25, 2026. One was a newborn boy who died on August 14 of a ruptured spleen; he had been infected with measles before birth, with the infection listed as a contributing condition on his death certificate. The second was a six-week-old girl who died at home on August 18. Both were the state’s first measles deaths in 35 years.
Two additional deaths followed in September. A 40-year-old woman from Jefferson County died from measles complications, confirmed by the county coroner’s office. Days later, Pennsylvania reported a fourth death: an 18-year-old unvaccinated teenager from Mifflin County who died from acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, a rare and severe neurological condition that can occur following a measles infection. Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen said the department remains “committed to working with our partners across Pennsylvania to stem this outbreak and prevent more deaths.”
The CDC-State Dispute Over Counting Measles Deaths in 2026
| Detail | Description |
|---|---|
| CDC’s Stated Reason for Exclusion | Insufficient information to determine measles caused or contributed to the deaths |
| Standard Protocol (used for 2025 Texas deaths) | State investigates, confirms, and notifies CDC, which includes the deaths in national reporting |
| CDC Director Overseeing the Decision | Erica Schwartz |
| Pennsylvania’s Position | Followed the same established process Texas used in 2025 |
| CDC’s Public Statement on PA’s Federal Support Request | PA has not requested a CDC Epi-Aid deployment |
Source: STAT News, CNN, CDC/HHS statements
The disagreement between Pennsylvania and federal health officials centers on process rather than the underlying medical facts. When Texas reported the nation’s first measles deaths in a decade during 2025, the state followed a well-established protocol: state officials investigated, made a determination, and notified the CDC, which then incorporated the deaths into its national reporting alongside providing the state financial and personnel support. Pennsylvania says it followed that identical process for its own August deaths, yet CDC Director Erica Schwartz ordered the two infant deaths excluded from the agency’s weekly national count, citing insufficient information to confirm causality.
MMR Vaccine Statistics in US documenting the vaccine’s well-established 97% effectiveness against measles provide relevant context for why public health researchers found the CDC’s exclusion unusual, since vaccine effectiveness data of this kind is precisely the sort of established scientific consensus that has historically guided rather than complicated death-attribution decisions during outbreaks. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro publicly accused HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of spreading vaccine misinformation after Kennedy questioned the death attributions, including the newborn’s ruptured-spleen finding. In response to a request for comment, HHS noted that Pennsylvania had not requested a CDC Epi-Aid deployment, unlike Texas, South Carolina, Virginia, Kansas, New Mexico, and Wisconsin, which have all formally requested and received on-the-ground federal epidemiological support for their own outbreaks.
Measles Deaths in 2025: Texas and New Mexico
| State | 2025 Deaths | Outbreak Context |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 2 | West Texas outbreak, began January 2025 |
| New Mexico | 1 | Linked to the same regional outbreak, concentrated in Lea County |
| Total 2025 US Deaths | 3 | First US measles deaths in a decade |
Source: Texas Department of State Health Services, New Mexico Department of Health, CDC
The 2025 measles outbreak centered in West Texas and New Mexico produced the nation’s first measles deaths in a decade, a toll of three total fatalities, two in Texas and one in New Mexico. That outbreak began in the South Plains and Panhandle regions of Texas in January 2025 and spread into neighboring Lea County, New Mexico, with the vast majority of cases occurring among unvaccinated individuals. At the time, officials noted the deaths marked a grim milestone after the United States had gone a full decade without a single confirmed measles fatality.
Compared to Pennsylvania’s 2026 toll, the 2025 Texas-New Mexico outbreak death count of three occurred without the same level of federal-state dispute over official recognition, since Texas’s determinations were accepted and incorporated into CDC reporting without significant delay or public disagreement. That contrast has become a central point of criticism from public health researchers, some of whom have noted in professional commentary that the primary apparent difference between how the two outbreaks were handled was the political alignment of each state’s governor relative to the federal administration.
Historical Measles Mortality in the US
| Period | Annual Measles Deaths | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-vaccine era (before 1963) | 400 to 500 per year | Alongside an estimated 48,000 annual hospitalizations |
| 2000 (elimination year) | 0 endemic deaths | Measles declared eliminated in the US |
| 2015 (most recent prior death before 2025) | 1 | Isolated case, no sustained transmission |
| 2025 (full year) | 3 | First measles deaths in a decade |
| 2026 (state-confirmed, through Sept 15) | 4 | Highest single-state annual total since 1992 |
Source: CDC History of Measles, Pennsylvania Department of Health
The historical arc of US measles mortality illustrates just how effectively vaccination suppressed the disease’s lethality for more than half a century. Before a vaccine became available in 1963, measles killed an estimated 400 to 500 Americans every year, alongside roughly 48,000 annual hospitalizations, making it one of the most dangerous childhood diseases in the country. Widespread MMR vaccination drove that toll toward zero, and the United States declared measles eliminated in 2000, meaning the virus no longer circulated continuously within the country.
For roughly two decades afterward, sporadic imported cases occasionally caused isolated deaths but never sustained transmission chains large enough to produce a cluster of fatalities in a single year. The jump from zero sustained-transmission deaths for most of the 2000s and 2010s to three deaths in 2025 and now four in Pennsylvania alone in 2026 represents one of the sharpest mortality reversals for any vaccine-preventable disease the CDC currently tracks, directly tracking the decline in kindergarten MMR coverage from 95.2% in 2019-20 to 92.4% in 2025-26.
Vaccination Status and Death Risk in 2026
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Share of 2026 Pennsylvania Deaths, Unvaccinated | 100% (4 of 4) |
| Share of All 2026 US Measles Cases, Unvaccinated or Unknown Status | 95% |
| MMR Vaccine Effectiveness, 2 Doses | 97% |
| Herd Immunity Threshold for Measles | ~95% community coverage |
Source: CDC Measles Cases and Outbreaks, Pennsylvania Department of Health
Every one of the four confirmed 2026 measles deaths involved an unvaccinated individual, a pattern consistent with the broader national data showing 95% of all 2026 measles cases occurred in people who were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status. With the two-dose MMR vaccine offering 97% effectiveness against measles infection, the concentration of severe outcomes, including all four fatalities, among unvaccinated individuals reinforces the direct relationship between vaccination status and both infection risk and the likelihood of a fatal outcome once infected.
The 18-year-old Mifflin County victim’s death from acute disseminated encephalomyelitis illustrates a less commonly discussed but genuinely serious measles complication beyond the pneumonia and encephalitis more frequently cited in public health messaging. ADEM involves inflammation of the brain and spinal cord that can follow a viral infection, and while rare, it carries a meaningful risk of severe neurological damage or death, particularly in individuals with no prior immunity to buffer the initial infection’s severity.
Measles Deaths by State 2026 FAQ
Which state has the most measles deaths in 2026?
Pennsylvania leads all states with four confirmed measles deaths in 2026, the most any single state has recorded in a year since 1992.
How many measles deaths has the CDC officially counted for 2026?
The CDC’s national dashboard listed zero confirmed 2026 measles deaths as of September 15, 2026, after excluding Pennsylvania’s deaths pending further review.
Why hasn’t the CDC counted Pennsylvania’s measles deaths?
CDC Director Erica Schwartz cited insufficient information to determine that measles caused or contributed to the deaths, a departure from the standard state-to-CDC reporting process used for Texas’s 2025 deaths.
How many measles deaths occurred in the US in 2025?
Three deaths were confirmed in 2025: two in Texas and one in New Mexico, marking the country’s first measles deaths in a decade.
Were all of Pennsylvania’s 2026 measles victims unvaccinated?
Yes. All four confirmed victims were unvaccinated, consistent with the broader pattern showing 95% of 2026 US measles cases involved unvaccinated or unknown-status individuals.
What were the ages of Pennsylvania’s measles victims?
The victims included a newborn boy, a six-week-old girl, a 40-year-old woman, and an 18-year-old teenager.
How many measles cases has Pennsylvania reported in 2026?
Pennsylvania had confirmed 693 measles cases across 38 counties as of September 15, 2026.
When was the last time the US had four or more measles deaths in a single year?
The US last recorded four or more measles deaths in a single year in 1992, making 2026 the first year since then to reach that toll.
How many people died from measles in the US before the vaccine existed?
Before the measles vaccine became available in 1963, the disease killed an estimated 400 to 500 Americans annually.
What rare complication caused one of Pennsylvania’s 2026 deaths?
An 18-year-old died from acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, a rare neurological condition that can develop following a measles infection.
Disclaimer: The data research report we present here is based on information found from various sources. We are not liable for any financial loss, errors, or damages of any kind that may result from the use of the information herein. We acknowledge that though we try to report accurately, we cannot verify the absolute facts of everything that has been represented.
