RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Two people in Pennsylvania have died from measles , marking the first reported deaths from the disease in the U.S. this year.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health said on Tuesday, Aug. 25, that the two people who died were unvaccinated and lived in Lancaster County, the epicenter of a statewide measles outbreak that has sickened hundreds.
No additional information has been released about the two people who died. State health officials said the deaths are the first measles-associated fatalities in Pennsylvania in 35 years.
“Because measles was largely eliminated in the [state] for more than three decades, people are not familiar with this disease and don’t fully understand the potential severity of the illness,” said Dr. Debra Bogen, Pennsylvania’s health secretary, in a statement.
More than 2,700 measles cases have been reported in the U.S. this year—the highest number of cases since the disease was considered eliminated in the country in 2000. In just the past two years, the U.S. has recorded more measles cases than it did from 2000 through 2024 combined.
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that can cause high fever, a tell-tale rash, cough, and other symptoms. The disease can be mild for some, but about one in four people sickened with measles is hospitalized. Young children, pregnant women, and the elderly are among those who are at risk of more severe disease.
No specific treatment for measles exists. The measles vaccine—delivered as a combination measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) shot series—is 97% effective at preventing the disease and lowers the risk of complications if someone is infected.
“As a physician, I want to make sure that people understand that the MMR vaccine is safe and provides the best protection we have against measles,” said Bogen.
Within communities, a vaccination rate of above 95% is considered ideal for robust herd immunity against measles. The national MMR vaccination rate among kindergarteners surpassed 95% in the 2019-2020 school year, but it has been declining ever since, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. In 2025-2026, MMR vaccination coverage was just 92.4% nationally , and about 93% in Pennsylvania. In Lancaster County, home of the largest Amish settlement in the country, the vaccination rate was under 88% . An estimated 25% of the Amish population in Lancaster County is vaccinated against measles, according to the Association of Immunization Managers, an organization of state and local immunization officials.
Vaccination rates began notably declining in the U.S. during the COVID pandemic and have continued dropping amid increasing anti-vaccine rhetoric and policy under the Trump Administration. On Aug. 10, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that called for U.S. children to receive fewer vaccines and ordered the MMR vaccine to be split into three separate shots, despite a lack of scientific evidence to back the changes.
“Together, there could be a possibility they’re quite lethal,” Trump said of the combined shot, which has been in use for more than 50 years and has a strong safety and efficacy record.
Doctors and vaccine scientists said Trump’s executive order and comments were unscientific and misleading. "As measles cases reach a 35-year high in the U.S. and with cold and flu season quickly approaching, [the] executive order on vaccines is not only disheartening but dangerous,” Dr. Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), said in a statement at the time.
The CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that all children get two doses of the MMR vaccine , starting with the first dose at 12 through 15 months of age.
An additional early dose of the vaccine can also be given to children aged 6 to 11 months under some circumstances, says Dr. Elizabeth Murray, a pediatric emergency medicine physician in Rochester, N.Y. “With the ongoing measles outbreak, make sure your children are immunized. If your child is under age 1, talk to your doctor. Depending on how much measles is circulating where you live, your doctor may recommend an earlier dose,” she says.
The CDC also advises adults who haven’t been immunized against measles or who are unsure about their vaccination status to get the vaccine. The agency recommends that people who were vaccinated before 1968 with an older version of the shot get at least one dose of the vaccine in use now, which is more effective.
For people fully vaccinated after 1968, however, there is no need to get a booster , the CDC says, as two doses of the vaccine should offer adequate, lifelong protection .
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