Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. directly intervened to remove two measles-related deaths in Pennsylvania from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s online tally, according to a Reuters report.

Kennedy asked the new CDC director, Erica Schwartz, to remove the reference from the agency’s web page tracking measles cases and deaths after questioning whether measles were linked to the fatalities — even after CDC officials had accepted state officials’ assessment that the deaths were associated with the disease, according to Reuters.

The report — based on three anonymous sources, including a Pennsylvania official — comes after the state health department announced last week that two unvaccinated people in Lancaster County had died after contracting measles. The measles-related deaths marked the first in the state in more than three decades and the first measles deaths in the U.S. this year. Officials have not publicly confirmed the ages and identities of the deceased, though one was reportedly an infant.

In its release, the CDC said agency officials are reviewing details related to the circumstances and causes of the deaths, adding, “At this time, available information does not establish whether measles caused or contributed to the deaths or whether the individuals died from other causes while infected with measles.”

Spokespeople for HHS did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s request for comment Thursday morning.

Reuters said an HHS spokesperson did not specifically comment on Kennedy’s or Schwartz’s role in coming up with the final count on the CDC site.

Kennedy and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro publicly sparred in the aftermath of the measles deaths, with Kennedy accusing the governor of taking “giddy delight in announcing two measles deaths” and alleging that “the deaths may even have been altogether fabricated by one of the Governor’s hopeful staffers.”

Shapiro said last week that he had declined Kennedy’s offer of support. “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,” he said at a news conference.

In one of the cases, a county coroner said he believed the death of a newborn with measles was caused by a ruptured spleen and not the disease. The Pennsylvania health secretary responded that it had “thoroughly investigated and verified” that the two who died had tested positive for the disease.

Kennedy has a long record of spreading false claims about measles and the vaccine that is 97% effective at preventing measles for life. At an Amish county fair in Lancaster in 2021, Kennedy claimed the “cure for measles is chicken soup and vitamin A.”

After the Pennsylvania deaths, HHS released a statement extending condolences and said the CDC was “working closely with state and local health departments to strengthen response efforts, rapidly support affected communities across the state, and communicate the steps people can take to slow the spread of measles.” It also said the MMR vaccine “provides the most effective protection against measles and helps prevent its spread.”

There have been more than 2,900 U.S. measles cases so far this year, compared with more than 2,200 in all of 2025, federal data shows. Last year was the worst year for measles cases since the early 1990s. In Pennsylvania, there have been 540 measles cases so far this year, according to state data.

Will McDuffie and Brandy Zadrozny contributed reporting.

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