Health committee chair Bill Cassidy said fatal outbreak of disease is a ‘terrible legacy’ for Trump administration

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Senator Bill Cassidy, the Republican chair of the US Senate health committee, blamed the Trump administration’s vaccine-skeptical approach for ‌recent measles deaths in Pennsylvania and challenged Donald Trump’s pick for surgeon general to directly state that vaccines do not cause autism on Wednesday.

Cassidy, a Louisiana physician who chairs the panel, said three people in Pennsylvania had died of measles, with a fourth death under review, because ​of misinformation and misguided policies. His remarks come as the US grapples with its worst measles outbreak in over three decades.

All deaths occurred in Pennsylvania, in worst year since 1992 for one of the most contagious diseases

Pennsylvania health officials said a fourth person had died of measles-associated illness in the worst year for the disease since 1992. All four US deaths have occurred in the state.

Due to the Trump administration changing how it reports measles deaths, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not count any of the deaths in its national tally. Three people died in 2025.

CDC announces changes to how it reports measles deaths as Pennsylvania continues to confirm more cases

The Trump administration has changed the way it counts measles deaths amid an outbreak in Pennsylvania, which on Sunday saw the third apparent measles-related death in the state reported by a local coroner.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now using data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), which is a way to track mortality trends over time, according to a note published to the agency’s website on 4 September.

Jefferson county coroner says 40-year-old woman died on Saturday, while two infants died with disease in August

A coroner in Pennsylvania announced the death of a 40-year-old woman associated with the state’s ongoing measles outbreak. The death appears to mark the third in the US state’s ongoing outbreak.

Two previous deaths in the state were in infant children. In one case, the infant was born with a genetic defect that made her vulnerable to infection. The second infant child was infected with measles, and died of a ruptured spleen.