Pennsylvania Measles Outbreak Kills 4 and Sickens 767 as Vaccine Distrust Deepens
Updated
Updated · The Seattle Times · Sep 21
Pennsylvania Measles Outbreak Kills 4 and Sickens 767 as Vaccine Distrust Deepens
3 articles · Updated · The Seattle Times · Sep 21
Summary
Pennsylvania has recorded 767 measles cases since late April, including 93 in the past week, making it the nation’s largest and deadliest outbreak with four reported deaths and 150 hospitalizations.
An 84% jump in August vaccinations has followed the spread, but resistance remains strong in some Amish and Mennonite communities and beyond, where mistrust of medicine and post-COVID vaccine skepticism have slowed uptake.
The outbreak has widened across 38 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties as U.S. kindergarten vaccination coverage fell to 92.4%, below the 95% herd-immunity threshold, helping drive more than 3,400 cases nationwide this year.
State-federal tensions have sharpened the response after Pennsylvania said the CDC’s refusal to include the four deaths in its national tally undermined containment efforts; all four people who died were unvaccinated.
Exposure alerts are now surfacing well beyond Pennsylvania, including in California, Colorado, Indiana and Philadelphia hospitals, underscoring the risk to infants and other unvaccinated children.