Two unvaccinated Pennsylvania residents die of measles, first U.S. fatalities in 2026

Pennsylvania health officials confirmed Tuesday that two unvaccinated residents of Lancaster County have died from measles, marking the first measles fatalities in the state in 35 years and the first in the United States in 2026. The deaths occur amid a historic resurgence of the disease, with Pennsylvania reporting 393 confirmed cases this year, including 86 in the past week alone.
The U.S. has recorded 2,777 measles cases across 47 states and Washington, D.C., in 2026, the highest total since 1991, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The majority of infections involve children and teenagers, with 36 new outbreaks driving most of the cases. Maryland, which borders Pennsylvania, declared measles outbreaks in three counties Monday after identifying 14 new cases in unvaccinated residents, bringing its total to 31, with 27 reported since July 15.
“Because measles was largely eliminated in the Commonwealth for more than three decades, people are not familiar with this disease and don’t fully understand the potential severity of the illness,” Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen said. The CDC notes that two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine provide 97% lifetime protection, while unvaccinated individuals face a 90% infection risk after exposure.
Nationwide, vaccination rates have slipped to around 92%, below the 95% threshold needed to prevent community spread. In Pennsylvania, measles vaccination rates dropped from 96.7% in 2017 to 92.7% in 2026, with Lancaster County reporting only 87.6% of kindergartners fully vaccinated in the last school year. Non-medical vaccination exemptions have reached a record 4% this year.
Measles can cause fever, brain swelling, pneumonia, and death, with the CDC emphasizing that the disease is entirely preventable through vaccination. “And all of this suffering and hospitalization and death is entirely preventable. Why is it that the most vulnerable among us, our children, are forced to suffer our ignorance,” Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious disease expert at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told The Independent.
The U.S. had previously declared measles eliminated in 2000, but declining vaccination rates have allowed the virus to resurface. Last year, the country recorded three measles deaths: two in unvaccinated school-age children in Texas and one in an unvaccinated adult in New Mexico. Prior to 2015, the last U.S. measles death involved a woman with underlying health conditions.
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![Two unvaccinated people die from measles in Pennsylvania, officials confirm "[P]eople are not familiar with this disease and dont fully understand the potential severity."](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2053751760-1152x648.jpg)


