GoKawiil
Tech News
Researchers analyzed more than 85 million U.S. medical records and found that people vaccinated against chickenpox in childhood had a reduced likelihood of developing shingles decades afterward. The study adds to evidence connecting varicella vaccination with long-term protection against the related shingles virus.
UPMC's community hospital in Lititz, Pennsylvania has evaluated about 50 measles patients since April, with roughly 20 requiring hospitalization, according to infectious disease specialist John Goldman. Statewide, Pennsylvania has logged 943 cases, 176 hospitalizations and five deaths as of September 30, part of a national measles resurgence topping 3,600 cases this year, the highest since 1991.
Measles case counts in the United States have surpassed 3,500 so far this year, already exceeding the full-year total recorded in 2025. Health officials note that roughly 10% of this year's cases were reported within just the past two weeks, indicating the outbreak's pace is accelerating rather than slowing.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent Catholic bishops a letter arguing there was no valid religious basis for refusing to grant vaccine exemptions in Catholic schools, and threatened to cut state scholarships and vouchers if they didn't comply. The bishops publicly rejected his theological reasoning and legal claims, stating that Catholic teaching supports vaccination and that they don't need to justify church doctrine to the state.
Pennsylvania health officials confirmed two unvaccinated residents of Lancaster County died after contracting measles, marking the first US measles deaths this year. The state has logged 393 cases in 2026, trailing only Utah and South Carolina, with nearly 20 percent of infected patients hospitalized. Governor Josh Shapiro called the outbreak a preventable but growing crisis.
Two unvaccinated residents of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania died from measles, state health officials confirmed, marking the state's first measles deaths in 35 years and the first in the US in 2026. The deaths are part of 393 confirmed cases across 28 Pennsylvania counties this year, as the CDC reports at least 2,777 measles cases nationwide, the highest count since 1991.