While Pennsylvania’s measles rates have declined from their September peak, the commonwealth still accounts for nearly 30% of all measles cases in the US, and some doctors expect them to rise as winter brings more indoor gatherings.
Pennsylvania has recorded six measles deaths so far this year, and state health officials have now confirmed 1,505 measles cases in 45 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, with 73 new cases reported over the last week. Vaccinated individuals have accounted for just four of the state’s measles cases, and 290 cases have involved hospitalizations.
By comparison, Pennsylvania reported 16 measles cases in 2025 and six in 2024.
Last week, health officials confirmed Pennsylvania’s sixth measles-related death, an unvaccinated resident of Jefferson County who tested positive for measles. Another unvaccinated resident of Jefferson County who tested positive for measles died in September.
Two additional measles-related deaths were announced in September: a resident of Lancaster County, and an 18-year-old Mifflin County resident. Both individuals were unvaccinated, according to the health department.
In August, two measles-related deaths—the state’s first in 35 years—involved infants in Lancaster County. County Coroner Stephen Diamantoni, an elected Republican, initially cast uncertainty on the cause of death, before confirming that the virus itself caused one of the deaths. After Gov. Josh Shapiro traveled there to announce the deaths, Diamantoni claimed that state health officials never attempted to consult him regarding the cases. But according to a report from The Philadelphia Inquirer, emails show that they did, repeatedly.
According to the health department, Lancaster County has the most confirmed measles cases with 514, followed by Mifflin (205) and Chester (95) counties.
Nationally, South Carolina has recorded the second-most cases of measles with 670, followed by Utah with 536, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Gov. Josh Shapiro has clashed publicly with US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Trump administration appointee with a history of raising alarms about established vaccines, over vaccine misinformation and his decision to change childhood vaccine schedules—something many doctors, healthcare experts, and government officials disagree with.
While speaking in September at a conference of an anti-vaccine activist group he once chaired, Kennedy told the hundreds in attendance that they had a friend in President Donald Trump’s White House.
Contagious virus is a rising threat to everyone
Measles spreads easily when people who have it breathe, cough or sneeze, or through contaminated surfaces.
On average, symptoms appear between one and two weeks after exposure, but this can be as long as three weeks.
“Measles is really the lion king of infectious diseases when it comes to transmission,” said Michael Osterholm, who directs the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. “No one in the United States of America who is susceptible to the measles virus, either having not been vaccinated or not having previously had it, should feel safe from measles. No one.”
The risk grows as vaccination rates decline.
According to the CDC, 92.4% of US kindergarteners in 2025-26 received the required MMR shots. That’s down from 95.2% in 2019-20.
Pennsylvania’s MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccination rate among kindergarten students is 93.2% for the current school year, down from 96.4% in 2018-19 according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health School Immunization Rates.
How can Pennsylvanians protect themselves from measles?
Vaccination remains the state’s primary recommendation.
Pennsylvania health officials say the two-dose MMR vaccine provides 97% lifetime protection against measles. People with two documented doses don’t need another dose, while adults with only one dose or who can’t locate their vaccination records should talk with a healthcare provider or pharmacist.
Vaccination demand has risen during the outbreak. Pennsylvania providers typically administer about 25,000 MMR doses per month, but more than 56,000 doses were administered in September and more than 53,000 during the first four weeks of October, according to the state.
Residents who believe they were exposed to measles and are experiencing symptoms should contact their health care provider or call the state health hotline at 877-PA-HEALTH.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
