NEW YORK — The two measles-related deaths in Pennsylvania last month involved infants, and the virus itself caused one of the deaths, a Pennsylvania coroner confirmed Wednesday.

Lancaster County’s coroner, Dr. Stephen Diamantoni, said he told the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of his conclusions. CDC officials, however, have not said whether they will count either death as measles-associated, and the agency’s website still carries a disclaimer about them.

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Eli Lilly said Tuesday it would buy three early- and mid-stage vaccine developers, a boost for the field. 

The deals — which together could cost up to nearly $4 billion — are the latest acquisitions from Lilly, a company rich with cash from its booming GLP-1 business. In recent months, it’s picked up companies working on cancer, autoimmune diseases, and sleep disorders, all for under $10 billion each. 

The companies being bought are Curevo, LimmaTech Biologics, and Vaccine Company. 

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After a courtroom defeat, Trump administration health officials have revised the governing documents for a key federal vaccine panel to broaden its membership, increase its focus on potential harms of vaccines, and empower allies of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The new charter for the committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine use appears aimed at trying to evade the type of legal challenge that has left the currently appointed body in limbo. In addition, the document puts greater emphasis on the role of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in studying injuries possibly linked to vaccination  — though the committee has always paid close attention to any emerging evidence that called into question the safety of individual vaccines.

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