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RFK Jr. ordered deletion of measles deaths from CDC public data; internal database retains them

Developing1 source · Sep 3, 2026

Two measles deaths were removed from the CDC's public website at the direction of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but remain in an internal database accessible to state and local health officials.

RFK Jr. ordered deletion of measles deaths from CDC public data; internal database retains them
Image via Ars Technica

What happened

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. instructed CDC director Erica Schwartz to delete two measles deaths from the agency's public measles data, according to reports from Reuters and Inside Medicine released today. The deaths—a newborn and a child reported by Pennsylvania health officials—were added to and removed from the CDC website within hours on August 30. CDC staff had already reviewed and accepted the characterization of these deaths as measles-related before the deletion occurred. However, an internal CDC database called the "One CDC Data Platform," accessible to state and local health officials and CDC employees, still contains the two deaths, according to a screenshot verified by CDC staff.

Context

Pennsylvania is experiencing an ongoing measles outbreak that has sickened 540 people, including 119 cases in just the last week. The discrepancy between the public deletion and the retention of the deaths in an internal database creates divergent pictures of measles mortality depending on which CDC source is consulted. The incident raises questions about data transparency and consistency in communicating public health information during an active disease outbreak.