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Good morning. The news of Dolly Parton’s passing struck people pretty hard across the STAT newsroom. She was an incredible musician and humanitarian, but most relevant to this newsletter, she was an ardent supporter of science, including research behind the Moderna Covid vaccine.
Two measles deaths in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced yesterday that there have been two “measles-associated deaths” in the state. The only information the state released about the individuals is that they were both unvaccinated. They’re the first measles deaths in the country for 2026, and the first for Pennsylvania in more than three decades. Last year, three people across the country died from the disease.
Two of the people who died last year were children. But as STAT’s Helen Branswell wrote in 2023, adults are increasingly susceptible to the disease now that the first wave of children whose parents refused vaccinations has grown up. This, too, could fuel future outbreaks.
