Kindergarten vaccination rates dropped again last year
Abigail Adcox
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Vaccination coverage for kindergartners dropped across the country in the 2021-2022 school year, continuing a steady decline in childhood immunization that has been observed since the start of the pandemic, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Thursday.
Coverage of four state-required vaccines for public and private schools, including the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR), diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP), poliovirus vaccine (polio), and varicella vaccine (chickenpox), fell by one percentage point to roughly 93% compared to the 2020-2021 school year. Approximately 2.6% of kindergartners had an exemption for at least one vaccine.
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“These data show a decline of two percentage points nationwide in number of fully-vaccinated kindergarteners since the start of the pandemic. That translates to hundreds of thousands of children starting school without being fully protected against measles, mumps, whooping cough, and other diseases that can easily spread in classrooms,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Infectious Diseases. “This affects everyone in these communities. High immunization rates help everyone to stay healthier. We’re seeing a return of these diseases with the polio case reported in New York and the measles outbreaks as examples. Outbreaks like this are entirely preventable.”
Health officials said measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination rates are the lowest they have been in over a decade.
The decline means at least 250,000 kindergartners are possibly not protected against measles, a highly contagious illness that is easily spread through breathing, coughing, and sneezing. A current measles outbreak in Ohio has infected more than 80 children since November, with the majority of cases being among unvaccinated school-aged children, per state data.
Routine childhood immunization rates saw a drop at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as many families stayed home and schools turned to remote learning. For the 2020–21 school year, vaccination coverage among kindergartners was roughly 94%, down from the 95% coverage reported for the 2019–2020 school year.
The latest data shows that despite most schools returning to in-person learning, vaccination rates have yet to catch up to pre-pandemic level. States reported that lower response rates from schools, extensions or grace periods for enrollment requirements, and reduced access to vaccination appointments affected immunization rates and data collection.
Health officials noted that skepticism of COVID-19 vaccines may have had a slight effect on routine childhood immunization rates.
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Each state establishes required vaccinations and the number of doses needed for school children, offering exemptions for medical, religious, and philosophical reasons.