Vaccine exemptions among U.S. parents rose sharply last school year, according to data the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Monday, as routine childhood vaccination rates continued to decline.

Exemptions reach a new high

All states require certain vaccines for children entering public school. During the 2025-26 school year, 4.2% of kindergartners, about 155,000 children, had at least one vaccine exemption, up from 3.6% the year before. Most of those exemptions were classified as “non-medical,” meaning parents opted out for personal or religious reasons rather than health concerns. Medical exemptions held steady at 0.2%.

Forty-one states and Washington, D.C., reported increases in exemptions, the CDC said.

A trend that predates Trump’s order

Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at reducing the number of vaccines recommended for children, a move that drew sharp criticism from pediatricians and public health advocates. But the new CDC figures reflect a longer trend of families resisting school vaccine requirements that began during the height of the Covid pandemic.

The rise 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.” Ohio’s exemption rate reached 5.7%, up from 4.7% the year before, according to the CDC data.

Coverage falls below the safety threshold

Routine vaccination coverage among kindergartners dropped to 92% for the DTaP shot, which protects against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, and to 92.4% for the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. Both figures fall well short of the 95% threshold medical experts say communities need to prevent measles outbreaks.

Measles cases hit a 35-year high

This year marked a 35-year high in the nation’s measles case count. As of Monday, the U.S. had logged 2,566 cases in 2026, with active outbreaks in several states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Utah.

The continued spread threatens the country’s measles elimination status, achieved in 2000. The Pan American Health Organization is expected to rule on that status in November.

Two doses of the MMR vaccine provide 97% protection against measles, typically for life, but about 280,000 kindergartners lacked a record of both doses last year, the CDC said. Of everyone diagnosed with measles this year, 93% were unvaccinated.

In a statement, the CDC said it “continues to encourage parents to discuss vaccination options with their doctors.”

Author: Staff Writer | Edited for WTFwire.com | SOURCE: NBC News