PHILADELPHIA — Two unvaccinated Pennsylvania residents have died from measles, state health officials said Tuesday, the first measles-related deaths in the US this year.
Officials did not reveal any details about the people who died, other than that they lived in Lancaster County.
“My deepest sympathies are with the loved ones who are facing this unimaginable loss,” said state Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen. “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.”
The US is enduring its worst year for measles since 1991. Earlier this summer, it surpassed 2025’s record-breaking measles count, with 2,777 cases as of Thursday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The nation had 2,289 cases in 2025, the worst year for measles in more than three decades. Three people died last year.
In November, international health officials will meet to determine if the US and Mexico have lost their measles-free status. The US eliminated local measles spread in 2000 by maintaining high vaccination rates, which have fallen in recent years to below the 95% coverage needed to prevent outbreaks.
Overall US kindergarten vaccination rates inched down last year and the share of children with exemptions rose to an all-time high, according to federal data posted last week.
Lancaster County is known as the heart of Pennsylvania’s Amish community, a religious group that is sometimes reluctant to embrace modern medical interventions such as vaccines. About 88% of kindergartners in the county were up to date on their measles vaccines during the last school year, according to state data.
Pennsylvania has counted nearly 400 measles cases this year, state officials said.
As measles cases were rising earlier this month, the state Department of Health introduced a new tool that tracks the immunization rates at public and private schools.
Keystone senior newsletter editor Patrick Berkery contributed to this report.
