Fewer kindergarteners are being vaccinated, CDC data show

Vaccinations among kindergarteners declined during the 2024-25 school year compared to the year before, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

Rates dipped to 92.1 percent for the diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) and to 92.5 percent for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) and polio vaccine, the data show.  

The drop in vaccination coverage comes as the U.S. grapples with rising cases of the measles—one of the most contagious diseases in the world.  

There have been 29 outbreaks of the virus this year, resulting in more than 1,330 confirmed measles cases across 40 states, according to the latest CDC numbers.  

Herd immunity against measles requires roughly 95 percent of the population to be vaccinated against the disease, according to the World Health Organization.  

Vaccine coverage decreased in more than half of states during the last school year compared to the year before, with about 286,000 kindergartners attending school without documentation showing they completed the MMR vaccine series.  

Vaccine exemptions for one or more vaccines have also gone up, with a total of 138,000 kindergarteners exempt from a vaccine in the last school year. 

The number of exemptions rose to 3.6 percent during the 2024-25 school year from 3.3 percent the year before.  

Exemptions increased in 36 states and Washington D.C. with 17 states now reporting an exemption rate of more than 5 percent, the data show.  

The Trump administration has shaken up the country’s federal vaccine policy, sparking concerns among the medical community about the future of vaccine access.  

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, who has a long history of vaccine skepticism, has changed the process for vaccine recommendations as well as who is eligible for COVID-19 vaccines.  

“The decision to vaccinate is a personal one,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services told The Hill. “Parents should consult their health care providers on options for their families.”  

The spokesperson added that vaccination remains the most effective way to protect children from serious diseases like measles and whooping cough which can lead to hospitalization and death.