Washington DC - Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently suggested that Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and his office "fabricated" reports of multiple deaths related to measles.

In an X post shared on Wednesday, Kennedy criticized Shapiro for "his giddy delight in announcing two measles deaths" earlier this week, which he described as "a morose commentary on the contemporary political dialogue."

"The performance was a replay of the Democrats' COVID playbook: fearmongering, misinformation, finger-pointing, and the weaponization of infectious disease fears for political gain," Kennedy wrote.

"The announcement appears to have been premature, and the deaths may even have been altogether fabricated by one of the Governor's hopeful staffers."

Kennedy went on to claim that the Lancaster County Coroner has no record of such deaths.

Donald Trump Trump orders Lake Ontario be renamed "Lake America," calls Canadian officials "nasty people" amid tariff war

"Governor Shapiro got his headlines. He correctly gambled that the slavish mainstream media would dutifully amplify his scolding without any effort to check his facts," he added.

For years, RFK Jr. has been the leading voice in the anti-vaccination movement, and since President Donald Trump – who aligns with his views – tapped him to head HHS, he has pushed to reshape the government's policies and views on vaccines.

Under his tenure, there have been a number of outbreaks of various illnesses.

Measles – which was deemed eliminated in the US back in 2000 – has resurged in recent months, with nearly 2,800 measles cases reported so far this year.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez makes big move on DSA membership years after letting it lapse

During a press conference on Tuesday, Shapiro argued that Kennedy's rhetoric is having "a negative impact on communities across America."

Hours before RFK shared his post on Wednesday, Shapiro shared one of his own, in which he claimed the secretary originally called him to offer his help with the crisis.

When Shapiro asked if they could join together to urge Americans to get vaccinated against the disease, he claims Kennedy "launched into a tirade" of debunked conspiracy theories, and allegedly told the governor "it would be better if we went back to 'natural measles.'"

According to Politico, Pennsylvania has seen hundreds of new measles cases in recent weeks, many of which have hit the state's Amish population.

Health officials said they were withholding the identities of the recently deceased due to privacy concerns, as a direct cause of a death remains under review.