Vaccine exemptions are rising among kindergarteners, CDC reports

A growing number of kindergarten children are starting school without vaccinations due to rising exemptions, according to new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Vaccination rates among kindergarteners decreased during the 2023-2024 school year for all reported vaccines, the agency said. 

Exemption rates from one or more vaccines rose to 3.3%, an increase from 3.0% in the prior year, the CDC stated.

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Vaccination coverage is currently at 92.7% for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Approximately 127,000 children in the U.S. started kindergarten with exemptions from one or more vaccines last year.

The exemption increase was reported in 40 states and Washington, D.C. 

Fourteen states saw exemption rates exceeding 5%.

Vaccine exemption policies

Students are required by law to get certain vaccines in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

All states allow medical exemptions for students who cannot get vaccines for health reasons, the same source said.

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Some states (30 states and Washington, D.C.) also allow exemptions for religious reasons, and another 13 states will grant exemptions for religious and personal reasons.

Five states (California, West Virginia, New York, Connecticut and Maine) do not grant any non-medical exemptions, per the NCSL.

‘Worrisome trend’

Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst for Fox News and clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, called the rising exemptions a "worrisome trend."

"It’s fueled in part by a growing politicization and fear of vaccines, a hugely important public health tool," he told Fox News Digital. 

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, children’s vaccination rates were at 95%, a number that provides "herd immunity," according to the doctor. 

"That’s particularly important with a virus such as measles, which is the most contagious virus on the planet," Siegel said.

"There will be increasing outbreaks of measles, polio, chicken pox and other dangerous viruses if the vaccine rate continues to drop."

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In terms of whether the influx of migrant students into the U.S. factors into the rise of vaccine exemptions, Siegel said that "could be a small part of it."

"Anyone who comes into the school system unvaccinated (including migrants) increases the chance of disease resurgence," he said.

Dr. Edward Liu, chief of infectious diseases at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center in New Jersey, noted that "vaccine hesitancy" exists all over the world — but that it is "especially a problem" in Europe and the United States. 

"Since school systems allow for opt-out options for vaccination of their students, schools will have more problems with vaccine-preventable illnesses, like chickenpox, measles, mumps and flu, increasing the potential for isolated outbreaks," he told Fox News Digital. 

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"The only way to deal with this is to educate parents, and also limit vaccine exemptions in schools, which may mean stricter state mandates," he advised. 

"Otherwise, local schools will be under pressure to relax their vaccine requirements."