Childhood vaccine exemptions for personal or religious reasons hit new record, CDC finds
The number of parents in the U.S. choosing not to vaccinate their children rose dramatically in the last school year, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vast majority of exemptions were labeled as 'non-medical,' meaning that …
Intelligence analysis by Llama
The CDC found that 4.2% of kindergarteners had at least one vaccine exemption in the 2025-26 school year, up from 3.6% the previous year. The rise in exemptions is 'disappointing, but not surprising,' said Dr. David Margolius, director of the Cleveland Department of Public Health.
Imagine you're in a big classroom with lots of kids. If most of the kids get vaccinated, it helps keep everyone safe from diseases like measles. But if some kids don't get vaccinated, it's like leaving a door open for the disease to come in. That's what's happening in the U.S. right now, with more and more kids not getting vaccinated. It's making it harder to keep everyone safe.
Analysis
Exemptions on the Rise
The number of parents in the U.S. choosing not to vaccinate their children rose dramatically in the last school year, according to data released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All states require certain vaccines for children entering public school. During the 2025-26 school year, 4.2% of kindergarteners, about 155,000 kids, had at least one vaccine exemption, up from 3.6% the previous school year. The vast majority of those exemptions were labeled as 'non-medical,' meaning that parents or caregivers were opting out of the shots for personal or religious, rather than health, reasons. Medical exemptions remained stable at .2%. The rise in exemptions is 'disappointing, but not surprising,' said Dr. David Margolius, director of the Cleveland Department of Public Health. 'It's indicative of the lack of clear messaging at the national level about vaccines,' he added.
Measles Outbreaks
Routine vaccination coverage for kindergarteners dropped to 92% for the shot that protects against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough (DTaP), and 92.4% for the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines. That's far lower than the 95% of the community that medical experts say need be vaccinated against measles to prevent outbreaks. This year marked a 35-year high in the nation's number of measles cases. As of Monday, the country had logged 2,566 cases in 2026 alone, with ongoing outbreaks in several states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Utah. The continued spread threatens the nation's status of having eliminated measles from circulation achieved in 2000. The Pan American Health Organization is expected to make a decision on that in November. Two doses of the MMR vaccine offer 97% protection against measles, usually for life. The number of kindergartners without a record of having both of those shots before school was about 280,000 last year, the CDC said. Nearly all people diagnosed with measles this year, 93%, were unvaccinated.
Key points
- The number of parents in the U.S. choosing not to vaccinate their children rose dramatically in the last school year.
- The vast majority of exemptions were labeled as 'non-medical,' meaning that parents or caregivers were opting out of the shots for personal or religious reasons.
- Routine vaccination coverage for kindergarteners dropped to 92% for the DTaP vaccine and 92.4% for the MMR vaccine.
- This year marked a 35-year high in the nation's number of measles cases.
- The continued spread threatens the nation's status of having eliminated measles from circulation achieved in 2000.
If parents and caregivers start to understand the importance of vaccination and the risks of not vaccinating, the number of exemptions could decrease. This could lead to a decrease in measles cases and a return to the nation's status of having eliminated the disease from circulation.
If the trend of increasing exemptions continues, it could lead to a larger measles outbreak, potentially even a national epidemic. This would put a strain on the healthcare system and could result in serious illness or even death for some individuals.
