A third person has died of measles in the US, health officials say

Pennsylvania authorities announced that a 40-year-old woman died on Saturday from complications related to measles, marking the third reported death tied to this year’s U.S. outbreak. Greg Furlong, the medical examiner for Jefferson County, called the loss “heartbreaking” and county officials urged residents to take measures to protect themselves and their families. The Washington Post, citing Furlong, reported the woman was unvaccinated. The state previously reported two measles-linked deaths in August, both in Lancaster County. State health officials said those earlier fatalities also involved unvaccinated people; Lancaster County has been a focal point of the outbreak and accounted for 295 of Pennsylvania’s cases so far in 2026. The county is largely rural and includes a substantial Amish population, which the state noted has lower vaccination rates than many other groups. Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control has recorded 3,294 measles cases in 2026 across more than 45 states. Pennsylvania has reported 676 total cases this year, including 108 new cases in the last week; 124 people in the state required hospitalization and nearly one-third of cases were children. Less than 1% of Pennsylvania’s cases were fully vaccinated individuals, according to the state health department. Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000 but has resurged in recent years amid rising vaccine skepticism, according to public-health accounts cited by state officials. The outbreak has also become politically contentious: federal officials at times have disputed Pennsylvania’s accounting of measles-related deaths and removed the earlier fatalities from national totals, while prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., identified in state reporting as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, publicly criticized the state’s announcements. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has accused Kennedy of promoting conspiracy theories and cited past remarks he made downplaying measles severity.