Harrisburg, PA — Pennsylvania has surpassed 1,000 measles cases in 2026, marking the state’s largest outbreak in more than three decades and adding to the worst U.S. measles year since 1991.
State health officials reported 1,004 confirmed cases, 198 hospitalizations and five measles-associated deaths. Lancaster County remains the hardest-hit area, and Pennsylvania officials say the outbreak has been driven largely by low vaccination rates. Only four of the state’s first 943 cases involved vaccinated people.
The outbreak has also exposed a sharp dispute between Gov. Josh Shapiro and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Pennsylvania has counted five measles-associated deaths, while the CDC has reported fewer federally confirmed deaths after changing how it verifies mortality data. Kennedy has publicly questioned whether all of Pennsylvania’s reported deaths were actually caused by measles.
That skepticism comes during a national resurgence tied in part to declining vaccination rates and persistent vaccine misinformation. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are about 97% effective at preventing measles, according to Pennsylvania health officials.
New York has meanwhile declared a disaster emergency, while Ohio and several other states are also reporting sizable outbreaks. International health officials are expected to review whether the U.S. has lost its measles-elimination status later this year.
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