CDC Deploys Epi-Aid Team to Pennsylvania Amid Rising Measles Cases and Death Count Dispute
The CDC is deploying an Epi-Aid rapid response team to Pennsylvania to help manage a significant measles outbreak as the state disputes the national death toll with federal officials.
Newsnibs Staff
- 2026-10-14
- Updated 8:17 PM UTC
(Pennsylvania, USA)
The CDC said on Tuesday it is sending additional support to Pennsylvania to help investigate the state's ongoing measles outbreak, through its Epi-Aid rapid response program for urgent public health threats. The announcement came as a Franklin County coroner ruled that a 39-year-old woman's death met Pennsylvania's definition of measles-associated, bringing the state's measles-related death toll for the year to six.
Pennsylvania has reported 1,136 measles cases this year. State officials retain overall leadership of the outbreak response, with the CDC providing support under the Epi-Aid mechanism.
The state's death count stands well above the CDC's nationwide tally of two measles-associated deaths. The gap traces to differing definitions: the CDC counts a death only when measles is listed as the underlying cause on the death certificate, while Pennsylvania applies a broader standard.
That discrepancy has fueled a public dispute between Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose department oversees the CDC. The two traded criticism on social media in August over what each called the politicization of the outbreak.
Six other states have requested Epi-Aids this year: Texas, South Carolina, Virginia, Kansas, New Mexico and Wisconsin. The CDC said it would work with local officials in Pennsylvania to strengthen the response and prevent further spread, pointing to its interventions in those six states as precedent. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has said her state would seek federal assistance as well, though no formal request has been confirmed.
Pennsylvania's health department reported administering 9,285 MMR vaccine doses statewide as of October 9, with vaccination activity peaking in August and September.
Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash
