Infant death from measles confirmed in Pennsylvania
Earlier-generation briefing · Verification upgrade pending
What happened
A 6-week-old infant died of measles at home on August 18, a cause of death confirmed by Lancaster County coroner Stephen Diamantoni.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. acknowledged the infant's cause of death while accusing Governor Shapiro of politicizing the incident.
Why it matters
The acknowledgment follows prior public disagreement from Secretary Kennedy regarding the accuracy of Pennsylvania's reporting on two measles-related deaths.
Context
The infant had been in palliative care at home shortly after birth.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has served as the 26th United States secretary of health and human services since 2025 and is known as an anti-vaccine activist who has also encouraged measles vaccination during the 2025 outbreak.
Lancaster County, where the death occurred, had a population of 552,984 as of the 2020 census.
Sources 4 sources
This briefing cites 2 publishers across 2 detected independent reporting streams.
- The Hill RFK Jr. accepts PA child died of measles, says Shapiro hastily ‘politicized’ death - The Hill
- The Washington Post Infant died of measles in Pennsylvania, coroner confirms - The Washington Post
- Wikipedia Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Background reference · Wikipedia text used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Wikipedia Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Background reference · Wikipedia text used under CC BY-SA 4.0.