More kindergartners are getting vaccine exemptions
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The share of U.S. kindergartners with vaccine exemptions increased in 40 states plus Washington, D.C., during the 2023-24 school year, according to recently updated CDC data.
Why it matters: The trend is a reflection of increased vaccine skepticism, which has lingered in some parenting corners for years but gained considerable steam during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Driving the news: The share of kindergartners with exemptions for one or more vaccines increased to 3.3% in 2023-24, up from 3% the prior year.
- Compare that to 2013-14, when just 2.1% of U.S. kindergartners had vaccine exemptions.
The big picture: Childhood vaccination has been stalling out globally, Axios' Tina Reed and Adriel Bettelheim report.
What's next: With noted vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. set to take a prominent public health role in the incoming Trump administration, it's likely that vaccine skepticism will go increasingly mainstream — despite the risk to kids left unprotected from diseases like measles and polio.
