US Kindergarten Vaccination Rates Slip Again as Exemptions Rise
US kindergarten vaccination coverage fell again in 2025-26, with exemptions rising to 4.2% as measles cases surge.
Vaccination coverage among American kindergartners slipped again during the 2025-2026 school year, according to new federal data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that coverage for key childhood vaccines fell by 0.1%, continuing a trend of annual declines seen since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Coverage ranged from 92% for the diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine to 92.4% for both the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and the polio vaccine. The CDC noted that MMR, DTaP, polio, and varicella coverage decreased in more than half of all states compared to the previous year.
At the same time, the share of kindergartners with exemptions from one or more vaccines rose to 4.2%, up from 3.6% the year before. Exemptions increased in 41 states and Washington, D.C., with 24 states reporting exemption rates above 5%.
John Grabenstein, a pharmacist who previously directed the Department of Defense's vaccine programs, described the trend as moving in the wrong direction. He warned that if current patterns hold, measles cases could double year over year. "It's just going to keep getting worse," he said.
Jen Kates, senior vice president at KFF, a health policy research group, noted that the national average masks sharper drops in certain regions. These pockets of low vaccination coverage are where outbreaks tend to emerge, she said, adding that this dynamic is driving the largest measles outbreak the U.S. has seen in decades.
The CDC estimates that roughly 280,000 kindergartners attended school during the 2025-26 year without documentation of completing the MMR vaccine series. Texas, which faced a severe measles outbreak last year, held its MMR rate steady at 93.2%. California, however, saw its rate drop by 0.4 percentage points to 95.7%.
States with the highest MMR vaccination rates included West Virginia, Connecticut, Maine, New York, and Mississippi. The lowest rates were recorded in Idaho, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Utah, and Arizona.
The U.S. has confirmed 2,566 measles infections so far this year, the highest number in over three decades. Public health guidelines recommend that at least 95% of people receive two doses of the measles vaccine to prevent outbreaks and protect communities.