The Newshound

RFK Jr claims Pennsylvania measles deaths may have been 'fabricated' as outbreak row with governor intensifies

RFK Jr, pictured in a heated CNN exchange over Covid vaccines, has reversed course by urging US families to vaccinate their children.
RFK Jr, pictured in a heated CNN exchange over Covid vaccines, has reversed course by urging US families to vaccinate their children.

RFK Jr has alleged that two measles-associated deaths announced by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro may have been "fabricated," escalating a bitter public feud with the Democratic governor as confirmed cases across the state hit 460 across 31 counties. Kennedy made the claim after Lancaster County's coroner raised questions about whether an infant's death was truly caused by measles. At a Fox News town hall, Kennedy also dismissed the broader alarm as media "fear-mongering," calling the Pennsylvania fatalities "so-called measles deaths." Stanford infectious disease professor Dr Jake Scott shot back that measles deaths are rare precisely because MMR vaccination has been near-universal for decades.

Lancaster County commissioner Joshua Parsons accused Shapiro of being 'deceptive' by framing the deaths as measles deaths during a press conference.

Before the MMR vaccine, the US lost 400-500 people to measles every year, with 48,000 hospitalisations, Dr Scott has said.

Kennedy insisted the governor 'has not been able to point to any child who died from measles in Lancaster County.'

MoreThe IndependentRFK Jr blames media and ‘demagogic politicians’ as he downplays ‘so-called measles deaths’ amid outbreak fearsFox NewsMeasles deaths may have been 'fabricated,' RFK Jr claims after coroner raises questionsFox NewsPennsylvania commissioner accuses Shapiro of 'deceptive' measles death framing as RFK Jr blasts Dem governor
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