Childhood vaccine exemptions hit record high, nearly doubling in five years

It's back to school time for millions of kids and new CDC data shows exemptions from routine childhood vaccines have hit an all time high rate of kindergartners with at least one vaccine exemption reached 4.2% during the 2025 26 school year, nearly double the 2.2% rate five years ago

And the vast majority of those exemptions were for non-medical reasons. Measles vaccination also continues to slip from 95% before the pandemic to 92.4% now

That's below the level doctors say is needed to maintain herd immunity

and comes during the worst year for measles cases in the U.S. since 1991

Vaccination rates also fell slightly for polio, DTaP, and the first dose of the chickenpox vaccine

Dr. David Margolius, director of the Cleveland Department of Public Health, calls the trend concerning

But it's not clear how much of the increase is from parents who oppose routine vaccines

and how much is from families facing other barriers to getting children their vaccinations