The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention excluded two measles deaths reported by Pennsylvania health officials from its latest national data update, publicly challenging state determinations. CDC Director Erica Schwartz reportedly ordered an unusual statement added to the surveillance data page noting that available information does not establish whether measles caused the deaths. This move breaks precedent, as state health departments traditionally determine cases and deaths, not the CDC.

The decision follows a public dispute between Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro over vaccine rhetoric. Kennedy shared measles misinformation on social media and suggested without evidence that the state may have "fabricated" the deaths.

Pennsylvania health officials initially refused to release details, citing privacy concerns, but later confirmed one deceased was a newborn and the other a child, both unvaccinated and from Lancaster County. Outside medical experts have criticized the lack of information, stating it creates space for doubt and misinformation. Lancaster County Coroner Stephen Diamantoni claimed a pathologist determined the newborn died of a ruptured spleen, not measles, though the baby had evidence of measles infection in lung tissue.

The newborn's mother was severely ill with measles at birth. The parents, who are Amish, believed their baby died of measles. The baby was born with a pulse but not breathing and was declared dead less than 30 minutes after paramedics attempted resuscitation.

Measles can cause a baby's spleen to enlarge and surrounding tissue to thin.