The deaths of two unvaccinated Pennsylvania residents from measles – the first measles deaths in the state in 35 years and the first reported in the United States this year – show the importance of vaccinations and clear and consistent public health messaging, says University of Delaware epidemiologist Jennifer Horney.

Screenshot 2026-08-26 103312

Source: Molecule of the Month

Cross section through measles virus.

Lancaster County, Pa., where the two people who died lived, has reported 185 cases. Horney, a former member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Board of Scientific Counselors, noted that:

  • The Amish – which make up 6 percent of the population there – are among the communities that have lower vaccination rates. 
  • In a 2021 speech in Lancaster, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested chicken soup and vitamin A as the best ways to address measles.
  • These outbreaks continue to occur due to the overwhelmingly contagious nature of measles: Each person infected will likely spread to about 18 susceptible people, Horney said.
  • Pennsylvania has reported 393 measles cases across 28 counties this year, the third-highest total among states, behind Utah and South Carolina. 

“Two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97% effective against infection, and pediatricians continue to recommend on time vaccination of children for measles,” Horney said.

MICROBIOLOGY NEWS: Register with The Microbiologist for more free articles 

Topics