Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro caught in bind over questionable claim about 'measles death'

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was pressed by reporters on Friday about claims he made earlier this week that two people had died from measles in Pennsylvania after reports showed a forensic medical examiner concluded one of the deaths was caused by a ruptured spleen.

Earlier in the week, Shapiro, who's seen as a possible 2028 White House hopeful, blamed Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. for spreading "misinformation" about vaccines that, he said, has caused measles cases in the Keystone State to rise. Shapiro said the two fatalities were the state's first measles deaths in 35 years.

The remarks drew sharp blowback from RFK Jr, who said in a post on X that "the deaths may even have been altogether fabricated," a claim that took on new weight when the Lancaster Country coroner said he believed measles was not the cause of death in one of the fatalities.

The coroner, Dr. Stephen Diamantoni, told NBC News the death of a baby who died not long after being born was caused by a "traumatic rupture" of the spleen, and told The Philadelphia Inquirer measles antibodies were present in the blood. State health officials have since begun referring to both of the fatalities as "measles-associated," meaning the patients who died may have had measles while their deaths may have been caused by another factor. In those types of cases, it's possible measles could be a contributing factor in the death.

It's also worth noting that measles vaccines are not administered until around the time of a child's first birthday, so the newborn who died this week would never have been eligible to receive a measles vaccination.

Shapiro was questioned Friday about why he and the Pennsylvania Health Department hasn't been more specific about the details surrounding the two deaths. He insisted the deaths were "measles-related." 

Shapiro then pivoted and said the number of cases is well above 400 in Pennsylvania. "I don't think it serves the interest of public health, or slows the spread of this outbreak, for me to get into a back-and-forth about conspiracy theories that are showing up online." Meanwhile questions lingered about Friday about whether either of the deaths were actually caused by the measles.

Below, watch Shapiro answer a reporter's questions.