Kindergarten vaccination rates continue to decline, while exemption rates reach record highs
It was the fourth year in a row that national exemption rates hit record highs, and most parents are seeking exemptions for nonmedical reasons.
Vaccination rates among kids in kindergarten fell again in 2025 and the share of children with exemptions hit an all-time high, according to federal data released on Monday.
In the 2025-2026 school year, 92.4% of kindergarten students were covered by the measles-mumps-rubella vaccinations, which was down from 92.5% the previous year and down from 95.2% in the 2019-2020 school year, data from the Center for Disease Control showed.
Exemption rates last school year were at 4.2%, up from 3.6% the previous year and up from 2.2% in the 2020-2021 school year.
It was the fourth year in a row that national exemption rates hit record highs, and most parents are seeking exemptions for nonmedical reasons.
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