Vaccination exemption rates for US kindergartners reach record high
WASHINGTON —
The rate of kindergartners getting vaccinated declined again last year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There was also an increase in exemptions for at least one vaccine, driven by a record amount of nonmedical exemptions, which reached a rate of 4% nationwide.
The data was released Monday by the agency and includes vaccination rates for kindergartners during the 2025 to 2026 school year. The data released includes vaccination rates for the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella), DTaP, polio and chickenpox vaccinations.
Included in the data is a state breakdown of vaccination and exemption rates. Out of the 46 states with enough available data, 42 saw an increase in the rate of nonmedical exemptions.
There were 23 states where the rate of nonmedical exemptions was 5% or higher.
The new CDC data comes a week after President Donald Trump signed an executive order, attempting to overhaul the child vaccination guidelines. The order aimed at spacing out vaccines.
The MMR vaccine rate in the United States dropped 0.1 points to 92.4% last school year, the data showed. The number of kindergartners without the MMR vaccine was about 280,000, according to the CDC.
In July, the number of measles cases surpassed the total from 2025, making it the worst year since 1991. At least 95% of a community needs to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity, according to the CDC.