Vaccinations among kindergarteners declined during the 2024-25 school year compared to the year before, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Rates dipped to 92.1 percent for the diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) and to 92.5 percent for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) and polio vaccine, the data show.
The drop in vaccination coverage comes as the U.S. grapples with rising cases of the measles— one of the most contagious diseases in the world.
There have been 29 outbreaks of the virus this year, resulting in more than 1,330 confirmed measles cases across 40 states, according to the latest CDC numbers.
Herd immunity against measles requires roughly 95 percent of the population to be vaccinated against the disease, according to the World Health Organization.
Vaccine coverage decreased in more than half of states during the last school year compared to the year before, with about 286,000 kindergartners attending school without documentation showing they completed the MMR vaccine series.
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Author: Marty Kaufmann
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