Measles is a real disease that, in rare cases, can cause permanent damage or even be fatal for children.
Public health officials should track measles outbreaks and inform the public, just as they do with other diseases and health risks.
But it's one thing to keep the public informed; it's quite another for politicians and media figures to create a sense of panic for political purposes, and we are now well into that territory.
The goal, obviously, is to hang blame for measles outbreaks in the United States on HHS Sec. RFK, Jr., and whatever you think about him or his views on vaccinations (RFK has told people to get the measles vaccine, for what it is worth), announcements about public health shouldn't be seen as opportunities to score political points unless you don't care about the lives of your constituents.
Governor Shapiro's unseemly rush to Lancaster County to convene a national press conference and his giddy delight in announcing two measles deaths was a morose commentary on the contemporary political dialogue. The performance was a replay of the Democrats' COVID playbook:… https://t.co/LvZf3br1dB
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) August 26, 2026
Governor Shapiro's unseemly rush to Lancaster County to convene a national press conference and his giddy delight in announcing two measles deaths was a morose commentary on the contemporary political dialogue. The performance was a replay of the Democrats' COVID playbook: fearmongering, misinformation, finger-pointing, and the weaponization of infectious disease fears for political gain.
The announcement appears to have been premature, and the deaths may even have been altogether fabricated by one of the Governor's hopeful staffers. The Lancaster County Coroner says that it has no record of any measles deaths. State law requires that all measles deaths be reported to the coroner.
Governor Shapiro shattered tradition and violated standard public health policy by refusing to share information with the County Health Department or CDC.
Since I have been in office, CDC has had a superb record of cooperation, information sharing, and professionalism with blue- and red-state governors and health officials. Those collaborations have resulted in effective control of the global measles outbreak in this country.
Governor Shapiro got his headlines. He correctly gambled that the slavish mainstream media would dutifully amplify his scolding without any effort to check his facts.
Gov. Josh Shapiro jumped in front of the cameras to announce two measles-associated deaths, but he failed to provide any actual information about them, and they still haven't been confirmed by the people who actually determine what people die from. If they happened, Shapiro was informed through divination, because there are no records of them as he described.
Even Kennedy critics concede that the issue is being politicized to the detriment of public health. Not only is it ethically wrong, but it also directly affects people's willingness to trust the government on health issues.
If you know that your governor or health commissioner makes important public health announcements to score political points, as happened during COVID, a lot of people will decide that every announcement is an information operation and can't be trusted.
I agree with this.
— Pradheep J. Shanker, M.D. (@neoavatara) September 2, 2026
Politicians shouldn't largely be getting involved with any of this reporting of deaths.
Statement should go out by the public health department, and that is it. https://t.co/a38hSn1FvR
We all learned an adjacent lesson in kindergarten: the boy who cried wolf. Once you break trust, people stop paying attention to you, even when it matters.
— Vinay Prasad MD MPH (@VPrasadMDMPH) August 28, 2026
As I wrote the other day, in an interview with Reason, Vinay Prasad reflected on his time at the FDA. When asked about whether it's time to trust public health officials again, his answer was unequivocal: NO!
Zach Weissmueller: Is it time for people to start trusting public health again?
Prasad: [Laughs] No way. No way. No way.
Vinay saw the system from the inside, and fought it from the outside during COVID. He sees the same problems today as existed during the COVID fiasco.
The problem is not "science deniers;" it's science that is abused for political reasons.
During COVID, I wasn't infuriated that people got things wrong. Of course they did. You can always look back and see the mistakes you made and revise the playbook to do better next time.
I was infuriated because they lied all the time, distorted the facts, and used people's fears as a political weapon.
That's happening today, and it makes you think that these politicians have learned nothing from COVID.
But that's wrong. They learned lessons alright: scaring people to make them comply and think as you want them to works, and works well. Especially to motivate liberal voters.
It's no accident this is happening as the midterms approach.
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