Reports: RFK Jr. ordered measles deaths deletion; CDC still secretly counts them - arstechnica.com

The CDC is reportedly still tracking two measles deaths in an internal database despite removing them from its public data, following an order from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to reports published September 3, 2026.
Reuters reported that Kennedy instructed new CDC director Erica Schwartz to delete the deaths, which CDC staff had already reviewed and accepted as measles-related; Schwartz reportedly complied without objection.
The deaths—of a newborn and a child—were reported by Pennsylvania health officials and were briefly added to and then removed from the CDC website within hours on August 30.
Inside Medicine reported that the internal "One CDC Data Platform," accessible to state and local health officials and CDC employees, still lists the two deaths, based on a screenshot said to be verified by CDC staff.
Pennsylvania's ongoing measles outbreak has sickened 540 people, including 119 in the past week, according to state figures cited in the reporting.
Kennedy publicly clashed with Governor Josh Shapiro, who criticized his anti-vaccine rhetoric, and Kennedy responded on social media with vaccine misinformation and an unsupported claim that the state may have "fabricated" the deaths; HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.