CDC won't name state of latest measles death as it delays reporting others

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added a third measles death to its public dashboard on Wednesday. It would not say whether the death happened in Pennsylvania or another state ¹.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) told the Guardian that "due to privacy laws and legal restrictions," the National Center for Health Statistics cannot name a state. The spokesperson did not answer follow-up questions about which laws apply ¹.

Experts doubt the privacy reason

Dorit Reiss, a law professor at UC Law San Francisco, said she doesn't accept the explanation. She noted that the CDC already publishes case counts for each state ¹.

I don’t buy it

Lindsay Wiley, a UCLA law professor, said the federal Privacy Act generally covers only information that reveals a person's identity. She said it is hard to see how naming a state would do that ¹.

Debra Houry, a former CDC chief medical officer, said the death is already in the news, so it is likely identifiable anyway. She added that the agency can still see which state has deaths through other reporting systems ¹.

Pennsylvania's deaths are still missing

The Guardian reports that Pennsylvania has counted six measles deaths, with the most recent still under state investigation. The CDC dashboard lists only three nationwide ¹. The agency has not said why it is delaying the others ¹.

In September, the CDC switched to death records from the National Center for Health Statistics. It had used a system that normally reports deaths quickly and names the state. The agency has not given a clear reason for the change ¹.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in September that the dashboard briefly listed two Pennsylvania deaths and then removed them. Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the House health committee, wrote to CDC Director Erica Schwartz asking for a briefing on the omissions ².

Why it matters

Measles is spreading fast. The CDC count grew 8% in one week to 4,410 confirmed cases this year, nearly double last year's total ¹.

Paul Offit, an infectious disease physician at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said people need to know what is happening in their own state. He also noted that a 39-year-old woman in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, died of a rare heart complication of measles ¹.

When you see something like that, you’re looking at the tip of a much bigger iceberg

That matters to older readers. Many adults have no school vaccination record to check, and Offit said adults are harder to reach than children ¹. Accurate, timely numbers are how seniors and their doctors judge their own risk.

Offit also said he wondered whether the secrecy is "coming from the top." He cited unconfirmed reports alleging that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Schwartz have given orders to decrease the measles death count ¹. The Guardian's report attributes that claim to unnamed reports, and neither official is quoted in it ¹.

The CDC has offered to send a support team to Pennsylvania. Offit said state and local officials may be wary of working with an agency they see as not recording accurate data ¹.

The Record

1. Sep 23, 2026The Inquirer reported the CDC dashboard had left out Pennsylvania's measles deaths and listed one death nationally without naming the state ².
2. Oct 21, 2026The CDC added a third measles death to its dashboard and declined to name the state ¹.
3. Oct 22, 2026US measles cases reached 4,410 this year, up 8% in a week ¹.

Sources

1. The Guardian, “Experts alarmed by ‘less transparent’ CDC as US measles deaths rise” (2026-10-22). theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/22/cdc-measles-pennsylvania
2. The Philadelphia Inquirer, “Measles cases in Pennsylvania update: Lancaster, Chester” (2026-09-23). inquirer.com/health/measles-cases-pennsylvania-update-lancas

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