Kindergarten vaccine exemptions rise
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Vaccination rates among American kindergartners decreased during the 2024-2025 school year, according to new CDC data.
- And exemptions from getting one or more vaccines grew in 36 states and D.C.
Why it matters: The vaccination rate drop coincides with measles cases hitting a 33-year high in the U.S., while Trump's Health Department secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., upends long-standing vaccine norms.
By the numbers: Nationally, exemptions from one or more vaccines among kindergartners increased to 3.6% from 3.3%, when compared to the 2023-2024 school year.
- 2.7% of D.C. kindergartners had medical or non-medical vaccine exemptions during the 2024-25 school year, per the CDC.
- That's up from 2.3% during the 2023-24 school year, and 1.3% the year before.
Meanwhile, Maryland (2.2%) and Virginia (2.7%) kindergarteners held steady at the same vaccination exemption percentages from the previous 2023-2024 school year — though there were notable jumps in both states from the year prior.
Between the lines: MMR vaccinations against measles — a disease that's highly contagious and sometimes deadly — are high in the DMV compared to other regions.
- Nearly 96% of kindergarteners are vaccinated against measles in Virginia and Maryland, and nearly 93% in D.C.