▼ Summary
– CDC data shows US kindergarten vaccination rates fell again in the 2025–2026 school year, continuing a decline since 2019–2020 when rates were around 95 percent.
– MMR vaccine coverage dropped to 92.4 percent from 92.5 percent, and DTaP coverage fell to 92.0 percent from 92.1 percent.
– More than half of states saw decreases in MMR, DTaP, polio, and varicella vaccines; only 10 states met the 95 percent MMR threshold.
– Nonmedical exemptions for school vaccine requirements rose to 4 percent in 2025–2026 from 3.2 percent the prior year.
– Medical exemptions remained stable at 0.2 percent over recent years.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new immunization data on Monday covering the 2025–2026 school year, and the numbers show a continued slide in vaccination coverage among American kindergarteners. This marks yet another year of declining rates since the 2019–2020 school year, when the U.S. hovered near the 95 percent coverage level that public health experts consider essential for preventing community outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Current figures place the nation well off that mark. Only 92.4 percent of kindergartners received the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine during the 2025–2026 school year, a slight dip from the 92.5 percent recorded the prior year. Coverage for the DTaP vaccine, which protects against diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough, also slipped, falling from 92.1 percent to 92.0 percent.
The declines are not isolated to a few regions. Over half of all states reported lower coverage rates for MMR, DTaP, the polio vaccine, and the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine compared with the previous school year. Just ten states now meet or exceed the 95 percent threshold for MMR coverage: West Virginia, Connecticut, Maine, New York, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Maryland, Massachusetts, California, and New Mexico.
While the drop in vaccination rates is concerning, the rise in exemptions is steeper and arguably more troubling. During the 2025–2026 school year, 4 percent of kindergartners held a nonmedical exemption from school vaccine requirements, meaning the exemption was granted based on personal or religious beliefs. That figure marks a notable jump from the 3.2 percent nonmedical exemption rate recorded in 2024–2025. Medical exemptions, by contrast, have remained stable at 0.2 percent over recent years.
(Source: Ars Technica)
