RFK Jr, County Coroner Blast Shapiro Over 'Deceptive' Measles Death Claims

The fight over Pennsylvania's measles outbreak escalated sharply this week as a Lancaster County commissioner accused Gov. Josh Shapiro of deceptive framing over two reported deaths, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. demanded answers. The dispute has put the state's handling of the outbreak under a national microscope, with the CDC now saying it still lacks key information from the governor's office.

The clash centers on whether the deaths of two unvaccinated people were actually caused by measles, or merely associated with it. County officials say the record shows something very different from what Shapiro announced.

Commissioner Accuses Governor of Misleading the Public

Joshua Parsons, vice chairman of the Lancaster County Commission, told Fox News Digital that Shapiro framed the deaths as measles fatalities during a Tuesday press conference at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Hospital, where he stood alongside state Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen.

"Well, the governor, in the press conference, they said they were measles-associated deaths, but it was framed, and very much the underlying assertion to it, was that these were measles deaths," Parsons said.

Shapiro called the deaths "the consequences of a lack of immunizations" and said they were the first measles-associated deaths the commonwealth has seen in 35 years. National media ran with the framing; The New York Times headlined its story "Two Unvaccinated People Died From Measles in Pennsylvania, Officials Say."

Coroner: No Measles Deaths on the County's Record

Parsons said the Lancaster County coroner's office has no record of anyone dying from measles this year. He said state law requires deaths from contagious diseases to be reported to the county coroner, and none were.

The coroner, Dr. Stephen Diamantoni, told local media he was never contacted by Shapiro or the state health department and was surprised to learn of the press conference. He said the only relevant case was an infant who died in a home birth and tested positive for measles, but neither he nor the pathologist who examined the baby believed measles was the cause of death. Parsons said the infant died of a lacerated spleen.

"The coroner had one case where there was an infant who died in a home birth, and that infant died with measles but not of measles," Parsons said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health pushed back, saying it consistently used the term "measles-associated" and that both cases had positive measles tests. The department argued that the term only means laboratory or epidemiologic evidence of measles is present, not that measles was the immediate cause of death, and noted that not all deaths are referred to a coroner under state law.

RFK Jr and the CDC Demand Straight Answers

Kennedy unloaded on Shapiro in a Wednesday post on X, calling the governor's announcement "a morose commentary on the contemporary political dialogue." He accused the governor of running "the Democrats' COVID playbook: fearmongering, misinformation, finger-pointing, and the weaponization of infectious disease fears for political gain."

"The announcement appears to have been premature, and the deaths may even have been altogether fabricated by one of the Governor's hopeful staffers," Kennedy wrote, noting the coroner has no record of any measles deaths.

The Washington Post reported that Kennedy and Shapiro had a heated phone call minutes before the governor's announcement, during which Shapiro reportedly said he did not want federal help with the outbreak. The CDC backed Kennedy's push for clarity, writing that it is "working to determine what actually occurred" and that the governor's office "has not provided CDC with information relevant to the outbreak and has declined our offers of assistance."

"Under President Trump's and Secretary Kennedy's leadership, CDC will follow the facts and tell the American people the truth," the agency said.

Bogen disputed the CDC's account, saying the two deaths were reported to the agency's measles response team early Tuesday morning and that state epidemiologists thoroughly investigated both cases.

Largest Outbreak in Decades, Questions Still Open

As of Friday, Pennsylvania had confirmed 460 measles cases across 31 counties, making it the nation's largest outbreak since 1991, according to CDC data. Most of the infected are unvaccinated, and Parsons noted much of the outbreak is concentrated in religious communities, including Amish and Mennonite populations, whose members largely choose not to vaccinate.

"We certainly have resources available for people if they wanna get vaccinated, but I believe strongly that's each individual's choice," Parsons said.

The bigger question now is whether the state's handling of the two deaths holds up under scrutiny. With the CDC formally engaged, the coroner publicly disputing the count, and a Republican-led push for transparency gaining steam, Shapiro's team is under growing pressure to release the underlying records. For now, the administration's message is simple: the facts will be followed wherever they lead, and the American people will get the truth.