Pennsylvania’s health department confirmed two measles deaths in Lancaster County on Tuesday, the state’s first measles deaths in 35 years and the first measles deaths recorded anywhere in the US in 2026. Both people who died were unvaccinated; officials haven’t released further details about their identities.
The deaths come amid a significant measles outbreak in the state: Pennsylvania has confirmed 393 measles cases across 28 counties so far in 2026, split across two separate outbreaks, with children making up roughly a third of those diagnosed.
Why Measles Deaths Are So Rare in the US
Widespread MMR vaccination drove measles to the point of elimination in the US in 2000, meaning sustained domestic transmission had stopped entirely, with only occasional imported cases. Deaths from measles specifically had become rare enough that Pennsylvania hadn’t recorded one in 35 years, making this outbreak’s fatalities a genuinely unusual event rather than a routine seasonal occurrence.
What a 393-Case Outbreak Signals
An outbreak spanning 28 counties and two separate case clusters, rather than one contained local event, points to gaps in vaccination coverage broad enough to let the virus spread across a wide geographic area rather than being contained to a single school or community. Measles is among the most contagious viruses known, and outbreaks of this scale typically trace back to pockets of unvaccinated individuals large enough to sustain chains of transmission once the virus is introduced.
