A disease once declared eliminated in the United States is now spreading through two neighboring states — and the families living in affected communities are caught in a public health emergency with more questions than answers. Pennsylvania has recorded more than 1,000 measles cases and at least five confirmed deaths, with a sixth fatality in Franklin County reported earlier this week. Across the border, New York has surpassed 100 cases, prompting Gov. Kathy Hochul to declare a state disaster emergency in response to the ongoing outbreak.
For parents, caregivers, and patients across Pennsylvania and New York, the outbreak raises an urgent and deeply personal question: Who is getting sick, and could my family be at risk? Two public radio reporters on the front lines of this story — Natalie Abruzzo, who covers the Elmira and Corning region for WSKG, and Lydia McFarlane, WVIA’s healthcare reporter for northeast and north-central Pennsylvania — sat down with WSKG’s Celia Clarke to explain what they’re learning, what health officials are and aren’t sharing, and why vaccination status is the most critical factor in this outbreak. You can also read the original conversation from our partners at WSKG.
The One Thing That Keeps Coming Up: Vaccination Status
Across both states, the clearest pattern health officials have identified is straightforward — the vast majority of people getting sick are unvaccinated. In Pennsylvania, the state Department of Health has reported that fewer than 1 percent of people who are fully vaccinated with the MMR vaccine have contracted measles during this outbreak. More than 30 percent of those infected are 18 years old or younger.
McFarlane, who has been tracking the measles dashboard updated by the Pennsylvania Department of Health every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, put it plainly:
“What the state’s trying to get across is that the majority of people getting sick are unvaccinated.”
In New York’s Steuben and Chemung counties — where Abruzzo has been following the count, which reached 17 in Steuben County alone — local officials have also confirmed that cases are concentrated among unvaccinated residents. However, local health departments in both states have declined to release additional demographic details such as age, gender, geographic location, or hospitalization figures, citing patient privacy protections under HIPAA.
What Families Are — and Aren’t — Being Told
For families trying to assess their own risk, the limited flow of public information can be frustrating. Abruzzo described the approach taken in Steuben County, where officials have stopped issuing press releases entirely, instead directing the public to a county dashboard updated daily at 3:30 p.m.
She noted that the privacy calculus shifts only when there’s potential exposure at a high-traffic location:
“Unless there’s a possible exposure in what would be considered a high traffic area such as an airport, a shopping center, or even a performance venue, patient privacy is paramount.”
Even then, she explained, health departments are especially careful in rural communities where small populations make it easier for identifiable details to reach the public. In low-density areas like the Southern Tier of New York, officials release no age, gender, or geographic specifics.
McFarlane echoed the challenge, noting that while protecting individual identities is appropriate, the most actionable information for families is really about vaccination — not personal identity:
“I would say though the most relevant information in this situation is if the people getting sick are vaccinated or not, not necessarily their identity or if they’re part of a certain group.”
If you are unsure about your own measles immunity, here’s what you need to know about checking your vaccination status.
Children and Schools: A Critical Concern
With more than a third of Pennsylvania’s cases involving people 18 and under, parents of school-age children have particular reason to pay attention. Abruzzo said she is looking into systemic patterns of vaccine hesitancy among school-age children in the Southern Tier, where state law is unambiguous:
“New York state public health law is very clear about vaccination requirements. If a child will be attending daycare, pre-K or K through 12th grade, they have to have all required doses of vaccine on the recommendation schedule in order to attend or remain in school. And that includes the MMR vaccine.”
The existence of these requirements makes the spread of measles among children especially alarming to public health observers — and raises questions about how and where unvaccinated children are being exposed.
The Bigger Picture: Falling Vaccination Rates
Both reporters expressed a desire to dig deeper into a trend that goes beyond this specific outbreak. McFarlane said she wants to map vaccination rates by county and school district across Pennsylvania to see how they correlate with infection patterns — and to understand what is driving the rise in vaccine hesitancy, even for a vaccine as well-established as the MMR.
That context matters for families. The measles deaths in Pennsylvania have already sparked a political clash over vaccination claims, and public health experts have raised concerns about the broader erosion of vaccine confidence. Meanwhile, the intersection of politics and medicine has complicated how public messaging around the outbreak is being received.
The deaths linked to this outbreak are a stark reminder that measles is not a relic of the past. At least one unvaccinated woman has already died from measles-related complications in Pennsylvania, and two unvaccinated Pennsylvanians died earlier in the outbreak. For the families of those lost, and for the communities still watching case counts climb, the question of whether neighbors, classmates, and loved ones are vaccinated has become anything but abstract.
For ongoing coverage, explore the latest local news and related reporting including the progression of deaths in Pennsylvania, the latest on the outbreak statewide, and how political disputes have followed the tragedy. You can also hear from Governor Shapiro’s comments on the outbreak and learn more from the WVIA News Team covering this story on the ground.