Kindergarten Vaccine Exemptions in U.S. Increase, But Vaccine Uptake Rates Decline Only Slightly

The percentage of children entering kindergarten with exemptions from required vaccines increased during the 2025-2026 school year, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) but vaccine uptake rates for children only declined slightly. The national vaccine exemption rate rose to 4.2 percent, up from 3.6 percent last year. The CDC estimates that about 155,000 kindergarten students had an exemption from at least one federally recommended and state mandated vaccine during the current school year.^{1 2}

The CDC reported that vaccine uptake among kindergarten students decreased by less than one percent for all reported vaccines during the 2025–2026 school year compared with 2024–2025. National vaccine coverage rates ranged from 92 percent for the diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine to 92.4 percent for both the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and polio vaccines, with uptake of MMR, DTaP, polio and varicella vaccines decreasing slightly in more than half of the states.³

Uptake Rate for MMR Vaccine at 92.4 Percent

The MMR uptake rate for kindergartners was 92.5 percent in 2024-2025 and it decreased by one tenth of one percent to 92.4 percent in 2025–2026. Likewise, DTaP coverage declined one tenth of one percent from 92.1 percent in 2024-2025 to 92 percent in 2025-2026. Coverage for the first dose of the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine fell six tenths of one percent from 94 percent in 2024-2025 to 93.4 percent in 2025-2026, while coverage for the second dose increased slightly from 92.1 percent to 92.2 percent. Hepatitis B vaccination coverage in kindergarten children remained unchanged.⁴

The latest 92.5 percent MMR vaccination rate for kindergartners remains below the 95 percent level commonly used as a herd immunity target for population-based measles vaccine coverage. However, herd-immunity thresholds are not universal fixed values and depend upon the specific microbe and epidemiology of the disease, vaccine effectiveness, the strength of disease surveillance and reporting systems, and the population in which transmission occurs.⁵

Before the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, MMR coverage among kindergarten students reportedly stood at about 95 percent. The national vaccination rate among school children has remained below that level since then.⁶

Vaccine exemptions have moved in the opposite direction. The national vaccine exemption rate for school children increased from 3.6 percent in 2024–2025 to 4.2 percent in 2025–2026, marking a new national high. Vaccine exemption rates increased in 41 states and the District of Columbia, while 24 states recorded exemption rates above 5 percent. The CDC data includes exemptions from one or more required vaccines.⁷

State-level differences for vaccine exemptions are significant. During the 2025–2026 school year, Idaho had the highest exemption rate at 17.5 percent, while Connecticut, which only allows a medical exemption written by an MD or DO, had a vaccine exemption rate below 0.5 percent. MMR vaccination uptake also varied substantially, ranging from 75.2 percent in Idaho to 98.9 percent in West Virginia.⁸

School vaccination requirements vary by state because most public health laws in the U.S. are state laws. All states require certain vaccines for children attending schools, although the specific requirements vary and there are different types of exemptions (medical, religious, and conscientious or personal belief).⁹

The 2025–2026 school-year figures show two simultaneous changes: kindergarten vaccination coverage continued to decline, although only slightly for core vaccines like polio, DTaP, MMR and varicella, while the number of students attending public schools with vaccine exemptions reached a new high, and the extent of both changes varied considerably among states.¹⁰

If you would like to receive an e-mail notice of the most recent articles published in The Vaccine Reaction each week, click here.