The CDC has left Pennsylvania's two measles deaths out of its 2026 tally for three straight weeks. Will it add them by Sept 25?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its national 2026 measles tally on September 23, 2026, to include one death, ending three weeks in which Pennsylvania's measles-associated fatalities had been absent from the federal count. Pennsylvania has reported four measles-associated deaths in 2026: two unvaccinated Lancaster County residents announced August 25, marking the state's first measles deaths in 35 years; a 40-year-old Jefferson County resident who died September 12; and an unvaccinated 18-year-old Mifflin County resident who died of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, a rare neurological complication of measles. The CDC did not disclose which specific death it added or where it occurred, and flagged the figure as "subject to change" pending further review, while noting it is still investigating the other deaths reported by Pennsylvania. The discrepancy had drawn criticism of the CDC under Director Erica Schwartz, who had reportedly directed staff to initially exclude the Pennsylvania deaths from the dashboard. The update came amid the largest annual U.S. measles case count since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000. The prediction community leaned "no" at 62 percent, making this a community miss as the CDC added a death before the deadline.