Kindergarten vaccine exemptions hit record 4.2%, CDC says
Headline from CBS News
The CDC says the number of children exempted from vaccine requirements was up to 4.2%, an estimated 155,000 kids across the country, during the 2025-2026 school year. Dr. Michael Bigham, chief quality officer for Akron Children's Hospital, joins CBS News to discuss.
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Federal data revealed that the vaccine exemption rate for kindergartners rose to 4.2%, up from 3.6% the year before, which impacts approximately 155,000 children nationwide.
U.S. kindergarten vaccination rates have declined again, with exemptions reaching a record high. Federal data released Monday shows 4.2% of children are exempted from vaccine requirements, up from 3.6% the previous year.
NEW YORK — U.S. kindergarten vaccination rates inched down again last year and the share of children with exemptions rose to an all-time high, according to federal data posted Monday.
It's the fourth consecutive year that the national average exemption rate has reached a new record, and the vast majority are parents withholding shots for nonmedical reasons.
Click in for more news from The Hill {beacon} Healthcare Healthcare The Big Story Kindergarten vaccine exemptions hit all time high The percentage of American kindergartners exempted from MMR vaccines rose sharply in the 2025-26 school year, as overall vaccination rates continued to fall.
Childhood vaccination exemptions reached a record high during the 2025-2026 school year, a new CDC report says. Of children entering kindergarten, 4.2% had at least one exemption, up from 3.6% the previous school year.
The CDC says the number of children exempted from vaccine requirements was up to 4.2%, an estimated 155,000 kids across the country, during the 2025-2026 school year. Dr. Michael Bigham, chief quality officer for Akron Children's Hospital, joins CBS News to discuss.
New CDC data shows MMR vaccination among kindergarteners declining slightly as non-medical exemptions climb to 4.2% A week after Donald Trump made a series of misleading claims about vaccines – including that some injections look “like the size of a soda bottle” – the Centers for Disease Control and…
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Kindergarten vaccine exemptions hit record 4.2%, CDC says | Since Then
