Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced a rebuke from a governor irked about two of his residents dying from measles.
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According to a report by MeidasTouch, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) revealed on Tuesday that he confronted RFK Jr. about “scaring people” with conspiracy theories about vaccines. The confrontation came after two Pennsylvania residents died from measles.
“While I appreciate his willingness to offer staff to assist us, we think we’re able to manage this through the Department of Health,” Shapiro said during an appearance in Lancaster. According to MeidasTouch, Shapiro also released a statement on Tuesday that confirmed his refusal of RFK Jr.’s offer to send federal personnel to Pennsylvania to respond to the growing measles outbreak.
“I was very, very blunt with him, and I made very clear that his actions and the rhetoric that’s coming from this administration are having a negative impact on communities across America, particularly right here in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said in Lancaster. “There’s real life consequences to spreading misinformation.”
MeidasTouch reported that Shapiro confronted RFK Jr. just hours after Pennsylvania health officials announced that two unvaccinated residents from Lancaster County had died from measles. The deaths were the first associated with measles in the state of Pennsylvania in 35 years and the first reported in the U.S. this year, MeidasTouch added.
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“With the measles outbreak in PA, there are rightfully a lot of concerned Pennsylvanians out there, including parents who are sending their kids back to school this week,” Shapiro wrote on Tuesday, per MeidasTouch. “But as your Governor, I want to be clear: this illness is completely preventable and we have the tools necessary.”
Pennsylvania has also recorded nearly 400 measles cases this year, and Lancaster County is the epicenter of the state’s outbreak. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed nearly 2,800 measles cases as of August 20. The numbers make 2026 the worst year for measles in the United States in 35 years, according to MeidasTouch.
Shapiro laid the blame on RFK Jr. and the Trump administration for pushing vaccine skepticism amid the growing public-health crisis.
“Folks are spreading skepticism about things like the MMR vaccine without any evidence to back up their claims,” Shapiro said earlier on Tuesday. “Today, we see the consequences of this lack of immunization in the first measles-associated deaths that our Commonwealth has seen in 35 years.”
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