Vaccine exemptions increase among kindergartners, CDC says

U.S. kindergarten vaccination rates declined again during the 2025-2026 school year, and the percentage of children with exemptions increased to an unprecedented high, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Children exempted from vaccine requirements rose to 4.2% during the 2025-2026 school year ─ or approximately 155,000 children nationwide ─ up from 3.6% during the year-ago period. Exemptions rose in 41 states and the District of Columbia, with the vast majority due to nonmedical reasons. The CDC said 92.4% of 2025-2026 kindergartners received their required measles-mumps-rubella shots, falling below the established 95% rate needed to make it unlikely for a single infection to spark a disease cluster or outbreak. Public health officials attributed the increase in exemptions to chaos at the federal policy level. (The Associated Press article, 8/17/26)