Pennsylvania Confirms 6th Measles Death, 2nd in Jefferson County, as State Cases Reach 1,467

Since Pennsylvania announced its first measles deaths in three decades in August, the outbreak has grown to 1,467 cases statewide. On Wednesday, Nov. 4, the Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed a sixth measles-associated death. The patient was an unvaccinated resident of Jefferson County who had tested positive for measles.

It is the second confirmed death in that county. The state has now confirmed three deaths in Lancaster County, two in Jefferson and one in Mifflin.

The department gave no further details. It said state law limits what it can share and that "families deserve the dignity to mourn in private."

What the funeral director says

A funeral director, Brenda Shumaker, told a reporter the woman was a 21-year-old from the Amish community who gave birth at home and was airlifted to a Pittsburgh-area hospital. She died there on Sept. 30, Shumaker said.

Shumaker said the death certificate lists multisystem organ failure, postpartum hemorrhage, acute liver failure and suspected measles as the primary causes. The baby, her first, is healthy and being cared for by the family, she said.

The state has not confirmed those details. Shumaker's account is the only public description of the case so far.

The Franklin County dispute

The state's count excludes a death the Franklin County coroner reported in October. That case involved a 39-year-old unvaccinated woman with underlying health conditions. The coroner's office said the primary cause was a probable acute cardiac event due to possible complications of measles.

The Department of Health says its investigation has not found any Franklin County case that meets its criteria. Under the state definition, a measles-associated death must occur within 30 days of symptom onset in a person with clinical evidence of infection. It cannot be due to unrelated causes. Officials also weigh medical records and known exposures.

The dispute over definitions began in August. The Lancaster County coroner, an elected Republican, said he did not believe one of the two infant deaths there was caused by measles. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. later suggested that staff for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro had "fabricated" the deaths. The state has stood by its confirmed count.

The state has largely limited its disclosures to a patient's county and vaccination status. Most other detail has come from local coroners and right-to-know requests. That is a transparency problem whatever side you take on the numbers.

Federal response

A CDC spokesperson said an Epidemic Intelligence Service "disease detective" is being sent to the state. HHS spokeswoman Emily Hilliard said the CDC has given Pennsylvania $4 million in one-time emergency funding to support the response into next year. She said a CDC investigator has worked with state officials since last month, using epidemiological modeling to estimate the outbreak's true extent.

CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz recommends the MMR vaccine "as the most effective way to prevent measles and protect against infection," the agency's spokesperson said.

The CDC dashboard acknowledges only four measles deaths nationally and does not say where they occurred. The Washington Post has reported that CDC scientists tried about a month ago to issue an urgent nationwide alert on measles during pregnancy. It was not approved, and the reasons remain unclear. The agency is instead preparing a scientific report on the issue, with no publication date.

Numbers

Pennsylvania reported 77 new cases in the past week as of Wednesday. The statewide total includes 34 cases confirmed in the two days before the latest death announcement. Jefferson County has 92 cases this year, the fourth-highest count in the state. Lancaster, Mifflin and Chester counties have been among the hardest hit.

Nationally, the CDC reported 4,852 confirmed cases in 2026 in data released Oct. 30. New York reported its first measles death in more than 30 years on Monday, Nov. 2, after a child in Lewis County died Sunday.

Faith leaders and the state

The state's response has also drawn objections over how it approaches religious communities. Shapiro created a Vaccine Education Workgroup by executive order in October 2025. Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen leads it. Its minutes say "trusted local faith leaders were identified as potential messengers" in Amish communities, "though not always easily engaged."

Michael Geer, president of the Pennsylvania Family Council, objected. "Churches are not an extension of the government's public-health apparatus, and pastors should never be treated as tools for advancing the policy objectives of the state," he told The Daily Wire. Geer said Pennsylvania should protect religious exemptions and families' freedom to decide according to conscience.

The minutes frame the effort as partnership. They say faith-based organizations are "crucial partners in sharing accurate vaccine information and hosting vaccination events."

What comes next

The Franklin County review is still open. The state has not said whether it will revise its count.

The U.S. also faces a deadline on its status. Measles was declared eliminated in the country in 2000, and a commission meeting next week could strip that designation.