Ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.), has sent a formal letter to the new CDC director, Erica Schwartz, seeking an explanation for the agency's stance on recent health data from Pennsylvania. The inquiry centers on two deaths attributed to measles in the state, which the CDC has reportedly declined to include in its official reporting.

If confirmed, these would be the first measles-related deaths in Pennsylvania in over three decades. The letter from the committee requests clarity on the methodology and criteria the CDC uses to verify and record such fatalities. The Democrats are seeking to understand why the federal agency's records currently diverge from the state-level reporting. As of now, the CDC has not issued a public response to the specific demands outlined in the committee's letter, and the agency's internal process for verifying these specific cases remains the primary point of inquiry for the lawmakers involved.