CDC: Kindergarten vaccination decreases, exemptions increase

Vaccination coverage among kindergartners in the United States declined during the 2024–2025 school year while exemption rates rose, according to new findings from the CDC. Data from states and the District of Columbia showed decreases in coverage for all routine childhood vaccines compared to the previous year. Most states also reported year-over-year declines in protection against illnesses such as measles, polio, and varicella.¹

Click through the slideshow above to see vaccination numbers from the CDC for the 2024–2025 school year.

Alongside the drop in immunization rates, more kindergartners entered school with exemptions from 1 or more required vaccines. Exemption rates increased in a majority of states, with a growing number surpassing the 5% mark. These changes come as public health officials continue to raise concerns about declining community protection and rising vulnerability to outbreaks in schools and communities.

"I was speaking with some colleagues at the CDC yesterday and this is really terrible," Tina Tan, MD, FAAP, FIDSA, FPIDS, editor-in-chief, Contemporary Pediatrics; attending, Division of Infectious Diseases, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, told Contemporary Pediatrics.

"It is a true indicator of the increase in vaccine hesitancy and antivaccination beliefs. The goal should be for all health care providers to work to find a way to slow down the number of infants and children not being vaccinated so that we can protect them against vaccine-preventable diseases," added Tan. "These diseases continue to circulate in the community, and being unvaccinated will place them at significant increased risk for getting the vaccine-preventable disease and possibly developing severe disease and complications."

As families prepare for the start of a new school year, ensuring children are up to date on vaccinations remains a key public health priority, said Lori Handy, MD, MSCE, associate director of the Vaccine Education Center and attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, in a previous interview with Contemporary Pediatrics. Handy explained that linking vaccines to the school calendar has long been an effective way to prevent outbreaks of contagious childhood illnesses like measles and polio. These diseases often spread quickly in classroom settings among children encountering their first exposures.²

“There was a way to link prevention to the age group that needed it the most, at the time they needed it the most, right when they were about to enter a crowded setting,” said Handy.

WATCH: Lori Handy, MD, on importance of vaccine catch-up before the school year

Handy noted that school-entry requirements serve as an important checkpoint, especially for families who may have missed routine care.

“It is a nice pause to say, 'Let’s look back: have you missed anything? Do we need to catch you up?'” she said.

"We need to be strong advocates for the patients that we are privileged to provide care for," Tan added.

References

1. New findings on vaccination coverage and exemptions among kindergartners (2024-2025 school year). CDC. August 1, 2025. Accessed August 1, 2025.
2. Fitch J. Lori Handy, MD, on importance of vaccine catch-up before the school year. Contemporary Pediatrics. July 17, 2025. Accessed August 1, 2025. https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/view/lori-handy-md-importance-vaccine-catch-up-before-school-year