U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has modified the criteria the federal government uses to tally measles deaths. Under the new protocol, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will no longer automatically include state and local reports of people who died while infected with measles in the national published death count. Instead, the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics must first verify that measles is listed as the underlying cause of death on the person's death certificate.
The policy change occurred as the United States manages its largest measles resurgence since 1991, with more than 6,300 infections reported since early 2025. Kennedy, who has previously questioned the fatality of measles and the necessity of vaccines, recently engaged in a public dispute with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) regarding that state's reporting of measles-related deaths. The CDC reported it is also re-evaluating its broader definition of measles deaths, though it has not provided a specific reason for this review.
Medical professionals and disease experts state that measles often causes death indirectly by triggering complications such as pneumonia, brain swelling, or immune system suppression. Historically, health officials have focused on the underlying cause—the disease that initiated the fatal sequence—rather than only the immediate cause, such as respiratory failure. As of October 14, 2026, the CDC has accepted two out of five measles-related deaths reported by U.S. states during the current year.
The scale of the reported impact involves the classification of fatalities among the 6,300 people infected nationwide since 2025. While state and local officials have reported at least eight fatalities, the federal government currently recognizes two. Public health experts argue that narrowing the definition to exclude deaths where a patient had other medical conditions could lead to an underestimation of the virus's impact. Conversely, the new verification step ensures that measles is formally documented as the primary cause by the National Center for Health Statistics before it enters the official federal record.
The policy sets a precedent for how the federal government handles "associated" deaths versus "underlying" deaths, a distinction that previously caused debate during the COVID-19 pandemic. A person infected with measles who dies of secondary pneumonia would have noticed a different classification under the old system compared to the new one. The CDC is currently working on a standard definition for measles deaths as cases continue to rise. Further updates on this definition and the final count for 2026 fatalities are expected as the National Center for Health Statistics completes its verification process.