On August 25th, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro held a press conference to address the measles outbreak unfolding in his state. He started by saying:
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“Just this morning, the Pennsylvania Department of Health announced the first two measles-associated deaths in Pennsylvania in 35 years. Both individuals were from Lancaster County, and both were unvaccinated.”
During the press conference, Governor Shapiro didn’t share any details about the identities of those who died or about the deaths themselves, instead choosing to focus on the issue of vaccination. He claimed the measles outbreak isn’t unique to Pennsylvania, that declining vaccination rates are a national issue, and that current leadership at HHS is to blame for the problem.
Now, after much confusion and back-and-forth between PA authorities and the HHS, we are learning the details behind the two “measles-associated” deaths. Both victims were infants born in the Amish community of Lancaster County, PA.
- First Infant: Passed away shortly after birth from a lacerated spleen. Although the infant tested positive for measles contracted from the mother, the virus was not the cause of death.
- Second Infant: Suffered from a severe genetic disorder that compromised her immune system, making her exceptionally vulnerable to fatal complications from measles or other infections.
While the measles outbreak is a serious matter, and encouraging the public to vaccinate against this pernicious illness is a worthy goal, exploiting these two rare, edge-case tragedies to advance a narrative is fundamentally wrong — as were the completely misleading statements from the governor, outlined below.
“I want to be clear, this illness and death from measles is completely preventable.”
Although the chance of contracting measles is greatly reduced by getting an MMR vaccine, the tragic loss of these two infants was not preventable. Neither could have been vaccinated at their age, and both would have likely died regardless of whether a measles outbreak was present in their community.
“This is a serious and a growing problem across the country and right here in our commonwealth… This disease does not respect county lines or religious lines.”
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The MMR vaccination rate in the U.S. stands at 92% — slightly lower than five years ago, but still high enough to maintain herd immunity nationwide. By contrast, the vaccination rate within the Amish community . Consequently, Governor Shapiro’s claim that measles is “a national problem” is flat-out false. The current measles outbreak is localized to the Amish community in Lancaster County, PA. Using a national platform to claim the entire country is equally affected is a clear politicization of public health.
“Sharing conspiracy theories and misinformation does not help the cause of public health and it leaves people less healthy and less safe and it leaves parents in a position where it’s harder for us to do our jobs to protect our children.”
While the governor is correct to flag RFK Jr.’s questionable claims, his timing still misses the mark. The Amish community’s low vaccination rates predate RFK Jr.’s involvement by a long shot. This hesitancy isn’t due to the national leadership — it’s a longstanding, community — specific norm that calls for a local response. Pinning the blame for vaccine hesitancy among the Amish on the HHS guidance is about as misplaced as a Florida governor blaming the National Weather Service for frequent hurricanes hitting Fort Lauderdale.
Governor Shapiro’s quick politicization of the measles outbreak — particularly his effort to blame the Trump administration — echoes the same flawed approach taken during COVID-19. Early in the pandemic, it became clear that COVID-19 posed dramatically different risks to different populations, with older adults and people with underlying medical conditions facing by far the greatest risk of severe illness and death. That risk profile called for a more targeted approach to protecting the most vulnerable.
Instead, governments adopted sweeping restrictions, including lockdowns, school closures, broad mandates, and promoting mass vaccination that did not stop people from contracting or spreading the virus. That flawed response was widely viewed as a blatant government power grab. It eroded public confidence in medical professionals, fostered deep distrust toward health authorities, and ultimately led to declining vaccination rates. Continuing the same policies of politicization, coercion, and panic-mongering is likely to only make the problem worse.
Governor Shapiro would be best advised to stop leveraging two dead babies for national attention to his future political ambitions and instead focus on his duty to support the affected community in his state.
Tanya Berlaga is a business owner and a freelance writer. Subscribe at https://theberlagaperspective.substack.com/
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Image: Office of Gov. Tom Wolf