Pa. measles outbreak spreads as health officials urge vaccinations ahead of school year

"I'm definitely worried about the school season," one Lancaster County doctor said.

• Haley O'Brien/WITF
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  Haley O'Brien joined WITF in 2026. A native of Scranton, she enjoys exploring Pennsylvania's diverse communities. Haley previously worked at NPR/PBS stations in Northeast Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley, and has won awards for video storytelling and beat reporting.

Lancaster County officials are urging residents to get vaccinated as a measles outbreak continues to spread across Pennsylvania with back-to-school season approaching.  

Pennsylvania’s measles dashboard showed 226 cases statewide this year as of Friday.  

Most of the state’s cases were reported since April, and the outbreak has progressed over the summer. Lancaster County has 132 reported cases and neighboring York, Chester and Lebanon counties have at least a dozen each. The spread broadened in the last week, with cases now reported in Lehigh and Bedford counties. 

More than 30 people statewide have been hospitalized.  

Dr. Jeffrey Martin, chair of the department of family and community medicine at Penn Medicine’s Lancaster General Health, said the recent surge is unlike anything he has seen in 30 years. 

“It’s a little bit surreal right now,” he said. 

Many of the patients in the hospital are adults, he said, although measles is most common in children. 

“I’m definitely worried about the school season,” he said. “That we are going to see more pediatric and children’s cases of measles.“ 

Lancaster County Commissioner Alice Yoder led the community’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic along with Martin when she was executive director of community health at Lancaster General. 

“One of the main reasons why I ran [for commissioner] is from a public health standpoint,” she said. 

Lancaster County has the largest outbreak in the state, and Pennsylvania has the third-largest outbreak in the U.S. The state reports that none of the patients diagnosed with measles this year were fully vaccinated. 

Yoder wants the county to establish a public health department to educate the community about vaccines and herd immunity. 

“Having information that’s local and then being able to communicate that… I think will be received well from people in the community because they usually trust local government and [we would] be able to have the messaging specific for our communities,” she said. 

Local advocates created the Partnership for Public Health roughly 20 years ago to conduct a study into the creation of a public health department. That attempt failed, and the county later established a health advisory council in 2021 consisting of local healthcare professionals.  

“So the partnership really shifted into more of an educational institution,” said Edward Chory, a retired surgeon and chair of the partnership. 

The group’s message to the community now is to look out for their neighbors. 

“We need to get more people vaccinated and to trust vaccines,” Chory said. 

Measles symptoms typically start with a fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. A few days later, a rash will develop and spread. Because the disease is highly contagious, patients should call their doctor or the emergency room to make arrangements for testing. 

“There is a percentage of the population in Lancaster County that is vulnerable, meaning they’re immunocompromised, they can’t get the immunization,” Martin said. “And so we all need to think about getting the MMR vaccination in order to protect those that are unable to get it.”