Kindergarten Vaccination Coverage Hits Record Low as Exemptions Rise

New CDC data show that kindergarten vaccination rates for measles, polio, and other diseases have dropped to 92.4% for MMR, a record low, while exemptions from at least one vaccine reached a decade high. Measles cases have surged past 2,500 this year, the most since the disease was eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. The article ranks states by vaccination coverage to identify areas most vulnerable to outbreaks.

The CDC’s latest kindergarten data reveal a decade-long erosion of routine immunization, with MMR coverage slipping from roughly 95% to 92.4% and similar declines for polio, hepatitis B, and DTaP. Nonmedical exemptions have doubled to 4%, while measles cases exceed 2,500 this year—the highest since U.S. elimination in 2000. State-level gaps are stark: Idaho’s kindergarten MMR rate fell 15 percentage points, whereas Connecticut and Maine improved, showing policy and sentiment drive divergent outcomes.

Measles’ extreme contagiousness—infecting about 90% of exposed unvaccinated individuals—means even modest coverage drops can spark outbreaks. The data underscore that herd immunity thresholds are fragile, particularly where philosophical exemptions are easy to obtain. Public health officials increasingly face the challenge of balancing school-entry mandates with parental autonomy, as rising exemption rates threaten decades of progress against vaccine-preventable diseases.