New York child dies of measles, the seventh US death this year

A child in New York has died of measles, state health officials announced late Monday. It's the first measles-linked death in New York in more than 30 years, and the seventh such death in the US this year. The other six all came out of Pennsylvania, where a raging outbreak has infected over 1,430 people in 2025. Before this year, Pennsylvania hadn't recorded a measles death in 35 years.

The outbreak isn't slowing down, and the reason is no mystery. Vaccination rates are slipping across the country as health misinformation and anti-vaccine sentiment dig in. Fewer shots mean more openings for a virus that was once considered all but eliminated in the US — and children are paying the price.

The nation's top health official is himself a longtime vaccine critic. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now US health secretary, spent decades before taking office attacking vaccines and spreading misinformation, and his anti-vaccine organization, Children's Health Defense, has been one of the most prolific sources of anti-vaccine content anywhere.

Since stepping into office, Kennedy has pushed a multi-front campaign against vaccines, according to Ars Technica. That has included dismantling and obstructing federal vaccine recommendations, launching dubious studies hunting for unspecified alleged harms, promoting claimed vaccine injuries, and continuing to spread misinformation about vaccines and the diseases they prevent.

Meanwhile, Ars Technica reports the CDC is holding up a health alert tied to the growing crisis. The agency has not publicly addressed that reporting.

The stakes keep climbing with each new case and each new funeral. Seven deaths in a single year from a preventable disease — with the country's health leadership openly skeptical of the tool that stops it — is a collision the US hasn't seen in decades.