Families in Radnor and Haverford townships face a sharpened reminder to check their children's vaccination records after Pennsylvania announced its first measles-linked fatalities in 35 years.
Delaware County kindergartners had a 94.3% MMR vaccination rate in the 2024-2025 school year, and no county residents had a confirmed measles infection as of June 17, according to the Delaware County Health Department. No update has been released since.
That local buffer exists against a worsening statewide picture. Pennsylvania reported 460 confirmed measles cases as of Friday, Aug. 28, including 86 new cases in the prior week, according to USA Today. Lancaster County remains the epicenter with 210 cases.
Under state law, families have five days after school starts to get students immunized or show proof of an appointment. After that window closes, unvaccinated students must leave school until vaccinated. The state also expanded its guidance to recommend infants as young as 6 months receive a first MMR dose if they live in or travel to counties with confirmed cases.
Two deaths, disputed cause
The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced Tuesday, Aug. 25, that two unvaccinated Lancaster County residents had died in what the department calls "measles-associated" deaths, the first linked to the virus in the state in 35 years.
One victim was a newborn boy who died Aug. 14 at a birthing center in Christiana Borough. Lancaster County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni said the infant tested positive for measles but died from a spleen laceration. "There was no swelling or enlargement whatsoever" of the spleen, Diamantoni told LancasterOnline.
No details have been released about the second death.
The state uses "measles-associated" when lab evidence of measles is present but the disease may not be assessed as the immediate cause of death, according to FactCheck.org. The CDC said Tuesday, Sept. 1, it is not counting either death in its national tally, saying it lacks enough information to determine whether measles caused or contributed to the fatalities, CNN reported.
About 20% of the state's cases this year have required hospitalization. None of the confirmed cases involved people who received both recommended doses of the MMR vaccine, Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen said at a Tuesday, Aug. 25, news conference, KCRA reported.
"Because measles was largely eliminated in the Commonwealth for more than three decades, people are not familiar with this disease and don't fully understand the potential severity of the illness," Bogen said.
By contrast, Lancaster County's childhood MMR vaccination rate fell from 95.5% in 2017 to 87.6% in the most recent data, NBC News reported. Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said vaccination efforts need to be stepped up "to prevent what I think is a coming disaster," warning that two deaths in a county with roughly 400 confirmed cases could signal far more unreported infections, according to PBS NewsHour.
The two-dose MMR vaccine provides 97% lifetime protection against measles, according to the state health department. Families who believe they were exposed can call the department's hotline at 877-724-3258.
