The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed two measles deaths in Pennsylvania from a national database just days after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly disputed whether state officials had properly classified the cases.
The two deaths had been reflected in the CDC’s national count before being scrubbed over the weekend. The CDC said in a note posted to its website that it was reviewing “additional information regarding the circumstances and causes of death.”
Currently 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,” the note says. The message mirrors the questions raised by Kennedy on Aug. 26 during a public spat with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.