CDC: Kindergarten Vaccination Exemptions Reach Record High

Vaccination exemptions for kindergarteners increased during the 2022-2023 school year to the highest level ever reported in the U.S., according to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday.

While the exemption rate remains low – increasing from 2.6% to 3% – it still represents more than 100,000 children whose parents sought to excuse them from shots that are otherwise legally mandated for school attendance. Most of the exemptions, which come at a time of heightened public vaccine skepticism in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, were listed as nonmedical.

Ten states reported an exemption from at least one vaccine for more than 5% of kindergartners. The report stated that an exemption rate of that level “increases the risk for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.”

The analysis, which summarized data collected and reported by state and local immunization programs, also found that vaccination coverage in kindergarten students remains below pre-pandemic levels.

“After 10 years of near 95% nationwide vaccination coverage, measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine; diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine; poliovirus vaccine; and varicella vaccine coverage declined approximately 1 percentage point during the 2020-21 school year and fell an additional percentage point during the 2021-22 school year, to approximately 93%,” the study stated.

The pair of developments raises concerns about potential disease outbreaks among undervaccinated children.

“Due to the concern that clusters of undervaccinated children can increase the risk for disease outbreaks, it’s important that immunization programs, schools, and clinicians ensure children are fully vaccinated before school entry or, if necessary, before provisional enrollment periods expire,” the CDC said in a summary of the report.

Regular vaccinations took a hit during the pandemic when many were avoiding going to the doctor unless absolutely necessary. The analysis shows that the numbers have not been able to rebound since then in the U.S. and underscores the likelihood that the pandemic fueled broader vaccine skepticism.

Globally, however, some improvements have been made, according to the latest data from the World Health Organization and UNICEF.

In 2022, 20.5 million children missed one or more vaccines delivered through routine immunization services – down from 24.4 million children in 2021, according to the data.

“In spite of this improvement, the number remains higher than the 18.4 million children who missed out in 2019 before pandemic-related disruptions, underscoring the need for ongoing catch-up, recovery and system strengthening efforts,” the report stated.