CDC Recognizes Four 2026 Measles Deaths While States Report Eight, With PAHO Elimination Review Due Next Week

Since the CDC's weekly count reached 5,182 confirmed measles cases for 2026, the sharper fight has been over how many people the disease has killed. The CDC recognizes four deaths. Health departments in three states have reported eight.

The weekly increase was 330 cases, the 13th straight week with a triple-digit jump. The CDC's page shows 43 new outbreaks reported this year, and 96% of cases (4,993 of 5,182) are outbreak-associated. Only five states have reported no cases: Arkansas, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada and New Hampshire.

Four deaths federally, eight by state count

Pennsylvania's Department of Health confirmed on Nov. 4 that an unvaccinated Jefferson County resident died after testing positive for measles. It is the state's sixth measles-associated death this year. Two were in Jefferson County, three in Lancaster County and one in Mifflin County.

New York reported the death of a child on Nov. 3, and Wisconsin reported the death of an infant on Nov. 5. Neither state had recorded a measles death since the 1990s. That makes this the deadliest week of the year so far.

The numbers differ because the definitions differ. The CDC counts a death only when the National Center for Health Statistics lists measles as the underlying cause on the death certificate. Pennsylvania counts a death as measles-associated if it occurs within 30 days of symptom onset in a person with a positive lab test, unless the death is from an unrelated cause.

Pennsylvania also says it is aware of a Franklin County death in October. As of Nov. 4, its investigation had not found a case meeting its criteria. The county coroner said the woman had several underlying conditions, including a past measles diagnosis with treatment.

The dispute has a history. In August, Pennsylvania reported two deaths among unvaccinated people. The CDC first added them to its national tally, then removed them after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. questioned whether measles had caused or contributed to the deaths. Governor Josh Shapiro and Kennedy have clashed over how the deaths are classified.

The CDC says it is working with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists on a standardized definition of a measles death. Infectious disease experts have warned that the dispute puts the agency at odds with the long-standing way measles consequences are tracked.

Where the outbreaks stand

Pennsylvania has 1,487 cases this year after 61 new infections this week. Wisconsin reported 477 cases, a 35-year high for the state, including 85 new ones. New York's count is 210, up 32.

Paul Offit, an infectious disease specialist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said during a Brown University Pandemic Center webinar that Pennsylvania's outbreak may be slowing. "I don't want to jinx it, but it looks like we may be getting on top of it here in Pennsylvania," he said. He credited the state health department with getting MMR vaccine to under-immunized communities. Pennsylvania providers gave more than 61,000 MMR doses in October, more than double a typical month, according to the state.

Nationally, 59% of cases are in children and teens. Unvaccinated people, or those with unknown vaccination status, account for 96% of cases, and 11% of patients have been hospitalized. Two doses of MMR are 97% effective at preventing measles. Kindergarten vaccination coverage fell from 95.2% in the 2019-2020 school year to 92.4% in 2025-2026.

PAHO review next week

The U.S. and Mexico will meet with the Pan American Health Organization next week for a three-day closed-door session to evaluate their measles elimination statuses. The meeting was first scheduled for April, then pushed to November so officials could complete what was described as "ongoing analysis."

In January, the U.S. met a key condition for losing elimination status: 12 months of continuous transmission. Trump health officials argued then that a year of transmission alone should not trigger an automatic loss. They said PAHO should also consider whether the cases share a common source, an epidemic linkage.

Ralph Abraham, the former Louisiana surgeon general who briefly served as CDC principal deputy director before resigning in February, said at the time that losing the status was "not really" a significant loss. Canada lost its status late last year.

CIDRAP News reports the U.S. is expected to lose the designation after the commission meets in Washington, and that its sources describe the outcome as largely symbolic. Offit believes measles is now endemic. "I think we're going to see measles again next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, until we get on top of vaccinating our populace," he said.

Administration messaging on the vaccine

The CDC went roughly a year without a permanent director while the outbreaks spread. Erica Schwartz was sworn in as director in August. Since then, communication on the outbreaks has been sparse, according to The Hill's reporting.

President Trump called the combined MMR shot "quite lethal" in the Oval Office in August. At a September conference hosted by Children's Health Defense, Kennedy compared a child dying of measles to a child injured by vaccines. Children who die of the virus "get headlines," he said, but kids are also "damaged" by shots.

It remains to be seen what PAHO's commission does with the administration's common-source argument. The U.S. delegation will make that case in a closed session next week, and the commission's decision will say whether the 2000 elimination milestone survives.