US school vaccination rates inch down yet again and exemptions reach record high

U.S. kindergarten vaccination rates inched down again last year and the share of children with exemptions rose to an all-time high, according to federal data posted Monday.
The fraction of kids exempted from vaccine requirements rose to 4.2%, up from 3.6% the year before. That’s an estimated 155,000 children nationally during the 2025-2026 school year.
It’s the fourth consecutive year that the national average exemption rate has reached a record, and the vast majority are parents wit