CDC Says Kindergarten Exemptions Rose

U.S. kindergarten vaccine exemptions rose to 4.2% in the 2025-2026 school year from 3.6% a year earlier, a record high equal to about 155,000 children, CDC data show. Coverage declined for each reported vaccine—MMR, DTaP, polio and varicella—continuing a slide from about 95% in 2019-2020, the level commonly targeted to prevent measles outbreaks. Exemptions increased in 41 states and Washington, D.C., while MMR coverage remained below the 95% threshold associated with preventing widespread measles transmission.