Kindergarten vaccine coverage decreased, exemptions increased in 2023-2024 school year

Tina Tan, MD, FAAP, FIDSA, FPIDS, editor in chief of Contemporary Pediatrics and professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, shared her concerns regarding rising vaccine hesitancy and unwarranted exemptions, emphasizing the importance of immunization in safeguarding public health.

“The increase in vaccine exemptions, many of them are not valid,” said Tan. “Vaccine hesitancy has definitely increased because vaccines during the COVID era have become politicized. So people believe that the vaccines either aren't effective or they don't trust the new way that vaccines are developed, and that's very unfortunate."

According to an October 2024 edition of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, coverage for all reported vaccines declined to less than 93% (range = 92.3% [diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine] to 92.7% [measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine]) during the 2023-2024 school year.¹

During the 2023-2024 school year. the vaccine exemption rate increased to 3.3%, up from 3% the year prior, and increased in 41 jurisdictions. In 14 jurisdictions, rates exceeded 5%.¹

“It’s really important that everybody get their influenza [vaccine], their COVID booster vaccine, and if they’re eligible, get nirsevimab, the monoclonal antibody [for respiratory syncytial virus( RSV)],” Tan stressed. Additionally, she noted the importance of maternal vaccination before the RSV season as a means to protect newborns.

Reflecting on the broader impact of vaccines, Tan described them as a cornerstone of modern medicine.

“Vaccines are a public health tool that is one of the greatest public health tools that have ever been developed,” she said. “They have been shown to significantly decrease the transmission of these diseases and protect individuals against getting these diseases.”

Reference:

Coverage with Selected Vaccines and Exemption Rates Among Children in Kindergarten — United States, 2023–24 School Year. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. October 17, 2024. Accessed November 17, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7341a3.htm