Pennsylvania officials dispute if an infant's death was measles-related, escalating a feud between Lancaster County officials, Gov. Josh Shapiro and RFK Jr.

Published on: Aug 28, 2026, 24:39:59 IST

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Pennsylvania's state Health Department said on Wednesday that one of the two unvaccinated Lancaster County, Pennsylvania residents dead from measles-related complications was an infant. However, county officials are disputing the claim.

According to NBC News, the two deaths in Pennsylvania were the first in the state in the last 35 years. Amid growing concerns around the vulnerability of measles infections, the tussle between the state health department's narrative and the county officials' narrative took centerstage o on Thursday.

Josh Parsons, the Commissioner of Lancaster County, disputed the claims that the infant's death was measles related. He claimed that the legal authority to determine the cause of the deaths of the two individuals lies with the county coroner. Parsons claimed that the coroner says the infant did not die of measles.

Our County Coroner who has statutory authority to determine cause and manner of death under the law says the infant did not die of measles," Parsons wrote, sharing an X post by NBC News calling the infant's death measles-related.

Parsons rebuffs comes on the back of a long-drawn-out spat between Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro and US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) over the measles-related deaths.

Lancaster County Official Takes Aim At Gov. Josh Shapiro

Parsons, a Republican, took aim at Josh Shapiro's claim that the two deaths in Lancaster County were measles-associated. He slammed Gov. Shapiro's deaths "measles-associated" framing a "carefully crafted attempt to overstate the case, while also maintaining some later wiggle room, i.e. “associated” to muddy the issue if it became clear these were not in fact measles deaths. This indicates deception."

"The Governor claimed there were two deaths in Lancaster County – the first deaths from Measles in the U.S. in 35 years," Parsons wrote in a follow-up X post. "We have a right to know the facts on this. You cannot drop a bombshell like this and then essentially say all the information around it is top secret."

RFK Jr Clashes With Josh Shapiro

RFK Jr and Gov. Josh Shapiro engaged in a highly publicized spat over the measles-associated deaths after Shapiro's Wednesday press conference. RFK Jr said that Shapiro's claim the deaths were from measles were "altogether fabricated."

"Governor Shapiro's unseemly rush to Lancaster County to convene a national press conference and his giddy delight in announcing two measles deaths was a morose commentary on the contemporary political dialogue," RFK Jr. wrote on an X post.

"The performance was a replay of the Democrats' COVID playbook: Fearmongering, misinformation, finger-pointing, and the weaponization of infectious disease fears for political gain."

Shapiro then hit out at RFK Jr. calling his post "inaccurate and misleading." He alleged that the HHS Secretary was "making claims that have been debunked repeatedly by actual scientists and doctors."

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