Trump Administration Switches CDC Measles Death Count to NCHS as Pennsylvania Reports 3rd Death
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 14
Trump Administration Switches CDC Measles Death Count to NCHS as Pennsylvania Reports 3rd Death
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 14
Summary
A Pennsylvania coroner reported a third apparent measles-related death Sunday — an unvaccinated 40-year-old woman — even as the CDC’s official tally shows no 2026 measles deaths.
The gap stems from a 4 September CDC change to use National Center for Health Statistics death records, replacing the faster notifiable-disease system previously used to receive state and local reports.
HHS said the CDC will count measles deaths only when NCHS lists measles as the underlying cause, but former CDC official Debra Houry called that approach ill-suited to confirming individual outbreak deaths.
Pennsylvania has already confirmed 2 measles-associated infant deaths this year and had 676 confirmed cases as of Friday; the coroner said infections are likely undercounted and stressed the 95% vaccination threshold.