The Pennsylvania Department of Health said it is in "regular contact" with staff from the CDC, refuting claims that it has been uncooperative.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health said it is in "regular contact" with staff from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, refuting claims from federal officials that the state has been uncooperative during the measles outbreak.
"It is inaccurate to suggest that Pennsylvania has not provided the CDC with information relevant to the outbreak or declined to work with the CDC," the DOH said in a statement.
The department added:
PA DOH appreciates the collaborative relationship we have with many CDC program areas — and we remain committed to transparency, accuracy, and upholding the rigorous standards of public health to protect Pennsylvanians.
The department reported two "measles-associated" deaths in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, but it has not released additional details about the cases, other than that the two individuals were unvaccinated and one of them was an infant.
The Lancaster County Coroner's Office has told multiple sources that it hasn't reported a death caused by measles. The coroner said it only has information about the infant, who reportedly died from a ruptured spleen, and measles was not identified as a contributing factor.
This has prompted speculation from Lancaster County Commissioner Josh Parsons and Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who are calling for transparency on the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
"You need to be transparent," Parsons said. "If you're going to have a big press conference and announce something like this, you need to tell us the details."
Kennedy said the deaths "may have been altogether fabricated." The CDC said it's working to determine "what actually occurred."
"These discrepancies raise important questions, particularly because the Governor’s Office has not provided CDC with information relevant to the outbreak and has declined our offers of assistance," the CDC said in a statement.
In another statement, the DOH clarified that "measles-associated" deaths just means that the deceased tested positive for measles, but didn't necessarily die because of measles.
"That term means laboratory or epidemiologic evidence of measles is present — in both cases there was a positive measles test — but thedisease may not be assessed by the medical certifier or coroner to be the immediate cause of death," the department said.
