Pennsylvania reports four measles-associated deaths, highest US toll in decades

Pennsylvania health officials confirmed two additional measles-associated deaths on September 15, 2026, bringing the state's total to four and driving United States measles fatalities to their highest level in decades. The outbreak highlights a growing risk for adults, who represent 37% of the nation's nearly 3,300 cases in 2026. Meanwhile, Bill Gates announced that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has abandoned its goal of global measles eradication due to rising vaccine hesitancy in wealthy nations.

Pennsylvania measles deaths

• ▪The two newly confirmed measles-associated deaths in Pennsylvania occurred in unvaccinated individuals, with one residing in Jefferson County and the other in Mifflin County
• ▪Pennsylvania health officials confirmed two additional measles-associated deaths on September 15, 2026, bringing the state's total measles-associated deaths in 2026 to four
• ▪A 40-year-old woman in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, died from complications associated with measles on September 12, 2026, according to the coroner's office
• ▪An 18-year-old from Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, died of a rare and severe neurological complication of measles, according to the county coroner

Adult measles hospitalizations

• ▪In Pennsylvania, 15% of individuals younger than 18 years with measles (31 out of 202 cases) have been hospitalized
• ▪As of September 11, 2026, more adults older than 20 years had been hospitalized with measles in the United States than children, with 144 adult hospitalizations compared to 123 child hospitalizations
• ▪In Pennsylvania, 93 adults older than 18 years have been hospitalized with measles, representing 20% of the 474 confirmed cases in that age group

Vaccine hesitancy impact

• ▪Bill Gates stated that vaccine hesitancy in wealthy nations has prevented the global eradication of measles from being a viable public health goal
• ▪Vaccine researchers Gregory Poland and Robert Bednarczyk stated that the growing number of measles cases in older children and young adults is driven by long-term vaccine hesitancy
• ▪Declining vaccination rates are estimated by Emory University researchers to increase the proportion of children and adolescents susceptible to measles from 13.5% to 21.4%

Measles eradication goals abandoned

• ▪The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation removed the global eradication of measles from its list of goals due to rising vaccine hesitancy in rich countries
• ▪Bill Gates noted that vaccine hesitancy has not increased in the lower-income countries where the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation operates

US measles outbreak statistics

• ▪The four measles-associated deaths in Pennsylvania in 2026 have driven the total number of United States measles fatalities to their highest level in decades
• ▪Thirty-seven percent of the nearly 3,300 confirmed measles cases in the United States in 2026 have occurred in individuals older than 20 years, according to CDC data

Debatable claims

• ▪Global eradication of measles is no longer a viable public health goal
• ▪Measles should be treated as a major adult health threat