The CDC is still privately tracking two measles deaths that were removed from the agency’s public data, even after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. directly ordered their deletion, according to two reports published today.
Kennedy reportedly instructed new CDC director Erica Schwartz to remove the two deaths from the agency’s website. CDC staff had already reviewed the cases and accepted that they were measles-related, yet Schwartz deleted the entries without objection, insiders said. Earlier reporting indicated the two deaths were added and then taken down from the CDC’s website within hours on August 30.
The victims were a newborn and a child, both reported last week by health officials in Pennsylvania. The state’s ongoing measles outbreak has sickened 540 people so far, including 119 in the past week alone.
An Internal Database Tells a Different Story
Despite the public removal, an internal CDC database still lists the two deaths, based on a screenshot that CDC staff reportedly verified. The system, known as the One CDC Data Platform, is accessible to state and local health officials as well as CDC employees. HHS did not immediately respond to questions about the discrepancy.
Under standard practice, state and local health departments make determinations about cases and deaths during an outbreak, while the CDC gathers those reports for nationwide tracking.
A Public Clash Over the Reports
Shortly after Pennsylvania officials announced the deaths, Kennedy entered a heated exchange with Governor Josh Shapiro, who linked Kennedy’s anti-vaccine messaging to outbreaks like this one. Kennedy responded on social media with misinformation about the measles vaccine and claimed, without evidence, that the state may have “fabricated” the deaths.
When the CDC first published the deaths on August 30, it added an unusual note stating that “Health departments make determinations about measles-associated deaths and share relevant information with CDC.” After the deletion, the remaining note said the agency was not reporting the deaths because “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.”
In an earlier statement, HHS said the two Pennsylvania deaths “have not been confirmed based on the information currently available to CDC,” but did not specify what information the agency was still awaiting from the state. Pennsylvania’s health department has said it provided the CDC with all required information.
Source
Image: arstechnica.com
