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Pennsylvania coroner shares details on 2 infant measles-related deaths
USA Today • • health
Key Points:
- Pennsylvania's two recent measles-related deaths involved infants, with one death directly caused by measles and the other by a ruptured spleen, though the infant was infected with measles.
- The infant who died from measles had a genetic condition, Amish lethal microcephaly, which made her highly vulnerable to infection; neither infant was old enough to be vaccinated.
- Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. questioned the classification of these deaths as measles-related, leading to political controversy over the federal acknowledgment of measles fatalities.
- Public health experts criticized Kennedy's interference, emphasizing that his vaccine skepticism and policies have contributed to increased vaccine hesitancy amid the nation's worst measles outbreak in over 30 years.
- The measles outbreak has reached its highest level in decades, with experts warning that undermining vaccine confidence exacerbates the spread of this highly contagious virus.
