Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who almost certainly has his eye on the 2028 Democrat nomination for president, has taught us to look carefully whenever a politician claims a child has died from measles. Back in August, Shapiro went on a rant against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after claiming a newborn had died from measles in the commonwealth. The Lancaster County coroner performed an autopsy and confirmed that the infant died of a lacerated spleen, not measles. A reporter asked Shapiro, with so much misinformation and confusion floating around, why he wasn't more specific and transparent about that case. Not surprisingly, Shapiro didn't want to address that, saying he didn't think "it serves the interest of public health … for me to get into a back and forth about conspiracy theories showing up online."
Shapiro pounced again in September when an infant died a measles-associated death in Amish country. Actually, the coroner found the infant was born with a rare genetic condition that is not generally found outside the Amish community: Amish lethal microcephaly. Most babies with that condition live only four to six months, he said. In both cases, neither infant would have received the measles vaccine yet anyway, which isn't recommended until 15 months.
Breaking News: A child in New York’s North Country died after contracting measles, officials said. Gov. Kathy Hochul called it the first such death in 30 years. https://t.co/3xmCeaRX46
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 3, 2026
So when we saw New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speak out, we noted that both she and The New York Times were careful to say a Lewis County boy had died "after contracting measles." We checked with local TV station WNYTV and learned the boy was Amish and only seven months old, so that he wouldn't have received the MMR vaccine yet.
“This is New York’s first measles-related death in 30 years, a devastating reminder of what’s at stake when Washington deliberately erodes decades of progress in protecting Americans from preventable illnesses,” The New York Times quotes Hochul as saying.
Chelsea Clinton popped up to let us be clear about what happened:
Let’s be clear about what's happened: a child died of a disease we know how to prevent, after years of purposeful effort to convince parents that vaccines are more dangerous than measles. That’s a lie, and it’s a deadly one. I’m grieving for this family and furious that we’re here. https://t.co/S6k2Uf8RyR
— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) November 3, 2026
"… here."
OK, talk to the Amish about not vaccinating their children … especially the children who are too young to have received the vaccination, even if they didn't have religious objections.
@ChelseaClinton Blaming Republicans for your own devaluation of the sciences during COVID is rich. I hope you and your bloodline spend eternity in hell. Your mom and dad significantly ruined our way of life.
— Jon Bontempe (@JonBontempe) November 3, 2026
@ChelseaClinton She fails to tell you this: According to local authorities and The New York Times, the infant who passed away was from a local Amish family. The Amish community has typically low vaccination rates.
— FreeIsNotFree (@350zBob) November 3, 2026
"Let's be clear about what's happened," while leaving out all the details.
@ChelseaClinton So far every time the left says a child died of measles. It's wrong they didn't die of measles. They died of another illness they had measles, but it's not the cause of death
— Think (@Think0909) November 3, 2026
@ChelseaClinton You are propagating a lie. RFK’s team never said to not get the vaccine but that children should have the vaccines administered at a different interval. If you’re going to flap your gums at least get it right.
— Matthew (@RMatt1972) November 3, 2026
@ChelseaClinton The Amish being unvaccinated is nothing new. Stop trying to make this political.
— Mick In RI🇺🇸 (@MickInTheIsland) November 3, 2026
@ChelseaClinton Anytime a Clinton starts with "Let’s be clear" you know bullshit is incoming.
— Pierre Delecto Too 🙈🙉🙊 (@DelectoToo) November 3, 2026
@ChelseaClinton “Let’s be clear” (all political hacks start sentences this way). Then obfuscate and redirect. Parents taught you well…
— McDern (@McDernro) November 3, 2026
@ChelseaClinton Is that the one where the baby was too young to be vaccinated?
— Suzanne Tjosaas (@SuzanneTjos) November 3, 2026
Shapiro tried to blame RFK for a baby who was born with measles.
@ChelseaClinton You are either a complete moron or completely evil. I struggle to figure out which one you are.
— Max Datum (@BMackevin) November 3, 2026
@ChelseaClinton I see misinformation runs in the family.
— CarltonG 🇺🇸😼 (@CarltonG_1) November 3, 2026
@ChelseaClinton The official statement was the child died "after contracting the measles" and of a measles related disease not the measles itself.
— Juan Tuneau (@JuanTuneau) November 3, 2026
@ChelseaClinton Let’s be clear. Your opinion is invalid.
— b_road_en (@b_road_en) November 3, 2026
The coup de grâce:
@ChelseaClinton Wow. Measles almost has a body count as high as your mom’s.
— Adam Schiffylus (@GogginWalters) November 3, 2026
Go ahead and be furious at the Amish for not vaccinating their infant, if the child even died of measles or "after contracting measles."
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