Curie Brief
Turn on cookies to sign in
Signing in saves your progress to your Curie account. We can only do that with cookies on — turn them on to continue.
News
Pennsylvania's measles crisis deepens as a third death — a 40-year-old unvaccinated woman with COPD and asthma — is reported in Jefferson County. The state now has 676 confirmed cases in 2026, and the U.S. outbreak has hit a 35-year high with 3,294 cases across 47 states. Vaccination rates continue to fall, fueling the spread.
Pennsylvania's measles outbreak has claimed a third life: a 40-year-old unvaccinated woman from Jefferson County who died Saturday from respiratory failure linked to "probable" measles, compounded by COPD and asthma. Jefferson County Coroner Greg Furlong confirmed "good, conclusive evidence" of measles and said the woman had been in close contact with a neighbor whose case was lab-confirmed. She had experienced measles symptoms — fever, cough, rash, and white spots in her mouth — for six days before her death.
The tragedy underscores a worsening national crisis. Pennsylvania leads the country with 676 confirmed cases in 2026, including 125 hospitalizations, with less than 1% of cases involving vaccinated individuals. The two earlier deaths in Lancaster County involved infants too young to be vaccinated. Notably, the CDC has yet to include any of Pennsylvania's three deaths in its national tally, citing a pending standardized definition for measles-associated deaths.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: Measles — a vaccine-preventable disease — is killing people in the U.S. at a pace not seen in decades. Declining vaccination rates, misinformation, and policy uncertainty are creating dangerous gaps in herd immunity. As the AAP president put it: "It is heartbreaking to witness deaths from a disease that is preventable with a vaccine that has been widely used since the 1970s."
