Kindergarten vaccine coverage slips again as exemption rates hit record highs

According to newly released CDC data, the proportion of kindergarten students who received the required measles-mumps-rubella vaccine slipped to 92.4% for the 2025-26 school year, down from the prior year and far beneath the 95% threshold that previously kept outbreaks unlikely. At the same time, the overall exemption rate climbed to 4.2%, an estimated 155,000 children, marking the fourth straight year of record-setting exemptions, most of which are non-medical.

The rise occurred across 41 states and the District of Columbia, with Idaho reporting the highest state exemption level at 17.5% and Connecticut the lowest at under 0.5%. Health officials, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Donald Trump, have recently pushed for changes to vaccination schedules that critics say lack scientific support. Dr. James Campbell of the American Academy of Pediatrics attributed the downturn to “chaos and confusion” in vaccine recommendations and urged parents to consult doctors. State and local health leaders, such as North Carolina’s Dev Sangvai, are calling on families to vaccinate as the new school year begins.