“Measles Deaths” or “Measles-Associated”? Pennsylvania Coroner Contradicts Shapiro and the Media

The Pennsylvania Department of Health issued a press release confirming two measles-associated deaths but did not provide details beyond saying the individuals were unvaccinated. Governor Josh Shapiro held a press conference talking about the importance of receiving the MMR vaccination and criticized US HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for “sharing conspiracy theories and misinformation.”

The two cases are in Lancaster County, and Commissioner Josh Parsons issued a statement that contradicts official statements from Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen and Governor Shapiro. Parsons emphasized that the deaths are being called “measles-associated,” but officials are not saying whether they died “of measles” or “with measles.” Parsons said he reached out to the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office for details.

“Deaths attributed to a communicable disease, under the law, are required to be reported to the Coroner’s office,” Commissioner Parsons said on X. “The Coroner’s office indicates that it currently has ZERO reported cases where measles is the immediate cause of death. They have one case where a person died WITH measles, but not FROM measles. Measles was definitely NOT the cause of death in that case.

“Given this information, it appears at least on the surface that incorrect information was provided to the public today. That information set off significant media interest in Lancaster County, both locally and nationally. Perhaps there is an explanation, but it is incumbent on the individuals and organizations that had the press conference today to provide that information to the public in a timely and accurate way.”

County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni provided more details that were reported by Lancaster Online. “No measles deaths were handled by our office,” he said. Dr. Diamantoni also told the outlet that his office is investigating the death of an infant who tested positive for measles, but died because of a ruptured spleen. It is possible that the coroner hasn’t received the details about these “measles-associated” deaths or that they were treated outside of Lancaster County, according to Diamantoni. He added, “I can’t state what the governor or state would decide. I’m not sure how they’re classifying.”

Secretary Dr. Bogen and Governor Shapiro both emphasized that they will not release additional details about the cases out of respect for privacy and to protect confidentiality. The state officials refused to answer any questions about the age of the individuals, whether they are Amish, or whether it was a baby or a pregnant mother. After reporters asked more questions, Dr. Bogen said: “This is about patient confidentiality, and our response is not changing.”

Commissioner Parsons criticized state officials for freely releasing the vaccination status of the deceased individuals without providing any other details about age, background, or comorbidities.

The Pennsylvania DOH was clear in its statement that these were “measles-associated” deaths, but several mainstream media outlets ran headlines referencing “measles deaths,” including the Associated Press and Reuters. The New York Times headline deliberately states “Two Unvaccinated People Died From Measles,” which is directly contradicted by Commissioner Parsons’ contact with the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office. PBS and ABC News also ran headlines claiming there were two deaths from measles in Pennsylvania.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, officials released provisional death counts which included cases where COVID-19 was listed anywhere on the death certificate even when it was not considered an underlying factor. In 76% of those cases, COVID-19 was listed as an underlying cause of death while 24% considered COVID-19 to be a “contributing factor,” according to the CDC. The CDC Wonder database also confirms 576 cases in which a motor vehicle accident was listed alongside COVID-19 on the death certificate from 2020 to 2024.

In 2025, a measles outbreak in West Texas was connected with the deaths of two unvaccinated children, but Dr. Pierre Kory and Dr. Robert Malone have asserted the deaths resulted from medical mismanagement rather than measles. The case of 8-year-old Daisy Hildebrandt was classified as a measles death by Texas Public Health officials, specifically measles pulmonary failure.

Dr. Kory reviewed the medical records and said her measles rash was clearing by the time she was discharged from the hospital the first time. When she returned to the hospital for her second visit, the doctors assumed it was a case of measles-related pneumonia, but Dr. Kory said they should have considered hospital-acquired pneumonia. The child was in the intensive care unit in an immunosuppressed state before she was released the first time. As a result of this potential misdiagnosis, the doctors failed to provide the full antibiotic treatment that likely would have prevented her condition from deteriorating.

The first death in Texas was also reviewed by Dr. Kory, who said the 6-year-old child died of secondary bacterial pneumonia that could happen following any viral infection. Dr. Kory said the medical team provided the wrong antibiotic for treatment and the death was preventable. He said it was only associated with measles because it was the infection the child had before contracting secondary bacterial pneumonia.

Governor Shapiro took aim at Secretary Kennedy during his press conference, saying he was late to the podium because he was speaking with Kennedy in the parking lot. “I was very, very blunt with him, and I made very clear that his actions and the rhetoric that’s coming from this administration are having a negative impact on communities across America, particularly right here in Pennsylvania,” Governor Shapiro said. “That there’s real-life consequences to spreading misinformation. There’s real-life consequences to scaring people and not relying on actual doctors and actual medical professionals to provide unbiased information to parents so that we can make reasonable decisions uh for our kids.”

Secretary Kennedy posted on X and accused Governor Shapiro of gaslighting. Kennedy shared a video of Attorney Aaron Siri deposing the Godfather of Vaccines, Stanley Plotkin, as a point of reference that there are aborted fetal cell lines in the MMR vaccine. Secretary Kennedy said he told Shapiro that there are religious objections to the MMR vaccine due to aborted fetal tissue, but Shapiro responded: “There is no fetal tissue in the MMR.”

Secretary Kennedy said he also asked Governor Shapiro to provide an example of vaccine misinformation he has promoted, but Shapiro was unable to provide an example. Kennedy criticized Shapiro for publicly repeating his claims that Kennedy has spread misinformation about vaccines despite not being able to provide any examples. Secretary Kennedy also offered to point to “hundreds of instances of vaccine misinformation by the Biden administration” that he has never heard Shapiro complain about.