Two Pennsylvanians have died in a measles outbreak that has sickened more than 460 people across the state, including 210 cases in Lancaster County. State health officials confirmed these are Pennsylvania's first measles deaths in 35 years. Yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not added either death to its national count, which currently lists zero measles deaths for the year.

This isn't a routine data delay. It follows a public dispute between Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Shapiro said Kennedy's rhetoric on vaccines has led to "real-life consequences," according to a post on X. Kennedy responded by suggesting the state's health department may have "fabricated" the deaths, also in a post on X.

Regardless of where anyone stands on vaccines, everyone should agree on one thing: public health data should never be shaped by a political feud. When federal reporting doesn't match what state health officials have confirmed, it undermines trust in every number the CDC publishes, for every disease, in every state.

Families connected to this outbreak deserve straight answers, not a public fight over whether their losses even happened. The state health department has clarified that it labels a death measles-associated when medical or lab evidence links the disease to the death, even if a coroner lists a different immediate cause. That's a technical distinction, not evidence of fabrication.

We're calling on the CDC and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to review Pennsylvania's confirmed measles-associated deaths on the medical record and update the national count to reflect accurate, apolitical public health data.

Sign the petition to demand the CDC count Pennsylvania's measles deaths honestly, before political disputes cost the public more trust in the data meant to keep us safe.