The number of unvaccinated kindergartners in N.C. is on the rise

Nearly 2% of kindergartners across North Carolina were granted exemptions to required vaccines as of the school year ending in 2022 — up from 0.8% a decade ago.

What's happening: While children are generally required to get a number of vaccinations before attending public school, exemptions can be given for both medical and non-medical reasons (such as religious or moral objections), depending on local rules.

• Studies have found an increased risk of infection from vaccine-preventable diseases among exempt children.

By the numbers: The nationwide median kindergarten vaccine exemption rate was rising even before the pandemic, increasing from 1.4% in 2012 to 2.6% in 2019.

• It has stayed at 2.5% or higher since 2020, coming in at 2.7% in 2022, the latest year for which data is available.

Between the lines: Even as the kindergarten vaccine exemption rate ticks up, Americans as a whole are overwhelmingly supportive of childhood vaccinations, per a recent Pew survey.

Yes, but: Just 70% of Americans now say healthy kids should be vaccinated as a requirement to attend public school, Pew found — down from 82% in the pre-pandemic era.

• There's a significant partisan split here, with 85% of Democrats agreeing with such a requirement compared to 57% of Republicans.