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C.D.C. Director Challenges Pennsylvania’s Report of Two Measles Deaths
Confirmed
In Short: Kennedy instructed new CDC director Erica Schwartz to delete reports of two measles deaths from the agency's website, despite objections.
Early today, Reuters reported that Kennedy, the CDC director, instructed new CDC director Erica Schwartz to delete the reports of two measles deaths from the agency’s website. Still, Schwartz complied without objection, insiders told Reuters.
The deaths, of a newborn and a child, were initially added and then removed from the CDC’s website within hours on August 30. Pennsylvania health officials reported the deaths last week.
Soon after the deaths were announced, Kennedy engaged in a heated exchange with Governor Josh Shapiro, who criticized Kennedy’s anti-vaccine rhetoric and misinformation as contributing to the outbreaks.
Despite the deletion, an internal CDC database still includes the two deaths, according to a screenshot verified by CDC staff. Pennsylvania’s state health department has provided all required information to the CDC.
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- Further details were still being reported.