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CDC vs. Pennsylvania: Why conflicting public health messages jeopardize public safety

<name>Katrine L. Wallace, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Illinois Chicago</name> <foaf:homepage rdf:resource="https://theconversation.com/profiles/katrine-l-wallace-2626740"/>· 11 septembre 2026

Pennsylvania has seen more than 600 cases of measles in 2026. Science Photo Library via Getty Images If you’ve been following the dispute between Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., you probably know that it centers on the deaths of two infa…

Résumé

Two infant deaths

In late August 2026, two infants in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, died after contracting measles.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health described both deaths as measles-associated, meaning the infants had measles, but the exact cause of death was still under investigation.

A county coroner later confirmed that one death was directly caused by measles, while the other was due to a ruptured spleen unrelated to measles.

These findings highlight the difference between medical surveillance (tracking diseases during outbreaks) and legal cause-of-death certification (determining the exact reason someone died).

The two systems operate on different timelines: surveillance updates daily to control outbreaks, while death certification takes weeks to finalize.

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