First two U.S. measles outbreak victims of 2026 were unvaccinated, Pennsylvania officials say

Two unvaccinated people have died of measles in Pennsylvania, marking the first U.S. deaths this year as the country grapples with the largest outbreak of the disease in three decades.

The deaths were reported in Lancaster County, and no other details about the people will be released, the state’s health department said on Tuesday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 2,777 measles infections this year through Aug. 20, already surpassing a 35-year high. Pennsylvania’s outbreak is growing into one of the largest this year with 393 cases and 70 hospitalizations as of Aug. 24.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC posted a joint statement on social media to extend their condolences to the people and said authorities were working closely with local officials, including on education efforts.

“The MMR vaccine provides the most effective protection against measles and helps prevent its spread,” the agencies said in the statement, referring to the measles, mumps and rubella shot. But it did not include instructions for people to get the vaccine if they were not protected.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for the MMR vaccine to be broken up into three separate shots, claiming “together, there could be a possibility they’re quite lethal,” without evidence.

In an interview with CBS News’s Face the Nation, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Director Mehmet Oz countered the statement and said it is not a lethal shot. And the Infectious Diseases Society of America says that there is no evidence that splitting the combination shot would offer any benefit.

The American Academy of Pediatrics said in a statement that children should get routine immunization against measles starting at age 1, and recommended vaccination for those as young as 6 months old who live in or travel to a place with an active outbreak.

“In 2026, decades after measles was eliminated in the United States, it is heartbreaking to witness deaths from a disease that is preventable with a vaccine that has been widely used since the 1970s,” AAP said.

While no vaccine is perfect, the MMR shot is considered one of the most efficacious on the market. After two doses, it’s 97 per cent effective in preventing an infection, the CDC said.

Vaccination rates across the U.S. have been sliding since the pandemic. For the 2025-2026 school year, 92.4 per cent of kids nationwide were protected — lower than the herd immunity levels needed to protect immunocompromised people from measles.

In Pennsylvania, 92.7 per cent of kindergartners were protected from the infection. More than a third of infected people are under the age of 18. The majority of cases are in Lancaster County, where the two deaths were recorded. Lancaster is also home to an Amish population that has historically rejected vaccinations.

Last year, two unvaccinated children in Texas and one New Mexico adult died of a measles infection. Vaccine policy has been upended under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and during the 2025 Texas outbreak, he endorsed unproven remedies including vitamin A and cod liver oil to fight infections.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory infection that can lead to severe complications, including pneumonia, according to the CDC, and nearly 1 to 3 out of every 1,000 children who become infected will die.