Pennsylvania’s health department is seeking emergency federal support to combat a rapidly growing measles outbreak, but with a pointed condition attached to the request.
The state has demanded the CDC formally recognize four measles-associated deaths before Pennsylvania will accept any assistance from the federal agency.
The dispute has escalated into a broader standoff between Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over how the outbreak is being characterized at the federal level.
Kennedy has cast doubt on whether deaths reported in U.S. measles outbreaks since he took office were caused by the virus or another underlying condition, and instructed the CDC not to include the Pennsylvania fatalities in a national tally.
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Debra Bogen sent a letter to CDC Director Erica Schwartz on Wednesday evening outlining the state’s conditional request for Epi-Aid, a form of short-term federal assistance deployed during public health emergencies.
“The CDC’s choice not to publicly recognize the deaths undermines our response,” Bogen wrote in the letter, which was reviewed by Reuters.
“For this reason, if CDC is unable to transparently and accurately communicate information about those measles-associated deaths, the Department will respectfully rescind our request for a CDC Epi-Aid,” Bogen continued.
Pennsylvania’s outbreak has grown to more than 700 confirmed cases across 37 counties, with 141 hospitalizations and four measles-associated deaths recorded so far this year.
Disease experts say Kennedy’s interference in the official death count represents a highly unusual move by a health secretary and risks minimizing the public’s understanding of measles dangers.
Shapiro has been a vocal critic of Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has promoted policies aimed at reducing U.S. childhood immunization rates.
Kennedy and Schwartz have pushed back, blaming Shapiro for not previously accepting their offers of Epi-Aid assistance before tensions between the two sides reached their current level.
The Pennsylvania health department noted that two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are approximately 97% effective at preventing measles infection.
The outbreak is part of the worst U.S. resurgence of measles in more than three decades, driven by rising vaccine hesitancy that has accelerated alongside a broader national debate over immunization policy.
CDC officials were not immediately available for comment on the state’s conditional request or the ongoing dispute over the Pennsylvania death toll.
