CDC excludes four Pennsylvania measles deaths from its count as outbreak accelerates

The CDC updated its measles dashboard Friday but is still not counting four measles deaths in Pennsylvania, where an outbreak is producing cases doctors say they have never seen before — including congenital measles in newborns, once exceedingly rare.

Members of Congress requested an immediate briefing on the reporting change. Former CDC chief medical officer Debra Houry called the delay "curious," noting that Pennsylvania concluded investigations on the first two deaths weeks ago and the CDC would have those records by now.

CDC director Erica Schwartz said the agency is working with state epidemiologists to define what counts as a measles death, and denied political motivation. HHS spokesperson Emily Hilliard did not answer questions about the delay.

The Guardian reports that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. instructed Schwartz not to include the Pennsylvania deaths in the CDC tally. Kennedy, who has cast doubt on the deaths, mentioned the outbreak once at an anti-vaccine conference last week.

Pennsylvania has reported 731 cases. Dr. John Goldman, an infectious disease specialist at UPMC, said the number is likely an undercount and the outbreak is accelerating.