It’s back-to-school time for millions of kids, and new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show that exemptions from routine childhood vaccines have reached an all-time high.
The share of kindergartners with at least one vaccine exemption reached 4.2% in the 2025-26 school year, nearly double the 2.2% from five years ago.
The vast majority of those exemptions were for non-medical reasons, according to the CDC data.
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The latest numbers
As the country faces a record-breaking year of measles cases, the worst since 1991, the CDC says the percentage of kindergartners who received the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine dropped to 92.4%.
The number is below the pre-pandemic rate of 95%, which is also the threshold doctors say is needed to maintain herd immunity.
University of Maryland researcher James Campbell told CBS News that with these numbers, more than a quarter of a million children entering kindergarten will be susceptible to measles.
Chickenpox vaccine rates dropped from 94% to 93.4%. However, the CDC says rates for two doses inched up by .1%.
Vaccination rates for the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine fell as well, by .1%. Meanwhile, Hepatitis B shots remained steady.
What doctors are saying
Dr. David Margolius, director of the Cleveland Department of Public Health, called the trend “concerning.”
But it’s unclear how much of the increase is due to parents who oppose routine vaccines and how much is due to families facing other barriers to getting their children vaccinated.
Maroglius said he believes it’s both.
Meanwhile, Campbell, who is also with the American Academy of Pediatrics, said, “The root cause of this is primarily because there’s so much chaos and confusion in vaccination recommendation systems in the last year or so.”
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