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Pennsylvania reports fourth measles-related death, the most in US in decades
On Tuesday, Pennsylvania health officials confirmed two additional measles-associated deaths involving unvaccinated residents of Jefferson County and Mifflin County, raising the state's total to four.
These fatalities mark the state's first measles-related deaths in three decades amid an outbreak that has sickened nearly 700 people this year, matching the United States' 1992 total of four deaths.
According to health department criteria, Pennsylvania defines a measles-associated death as occurring within 30 days of symptom onset; the state's previous two deaths involved infants in Lancaster County, where officials disputed one death's cause.
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. clashed over the outbreak, with Kennedy accusing the state of "fabricating" deaths and Shapiro criticizing Kennedy's "actions and his rhetoric."
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen urged residents to utilize the MMR vaccine, which remains 97% effective, as the state attempts to stem the growing outbreak affecting nearly 700 people.