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Last school year, more than 125,000 new school children missed coverage for at least one state-mandated vaccine, according to the U.S. Kindergarten Immunization Program. Data It was published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And another dip in measles vaccine doses among kindergarteners means coverage has now been below the federal target for four years in a row.
The US Department of Health and Human Services Goal At least 95% of preschoolers receive two doses of the measles-mumps-measles (MMR) vaccine, which protects against highly contagious disease.
After nearly a decade at this rate, though, the coverage was weakened during the Covid-19 pandemic and has yet to recover. Measles vaccination rates dropped again last year, with 92.7% coverage for kindergarteners in the 2023-24 school year, according to CDC data.
Prices for other government-mandated vaccines, including diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis, known as DTaP, and polio have also dropped.
“Public health officials are concerned about declining vaccination rates in kindergartens. Childhood vaccines are safe and effective and have made a significant difference in reducing suffering and death from once-feared infectious diseases,” said Dr. Marcus Plessia, chief medical officer of state and territory health authorities, in a statement.
In recent years, the number of immunization exemptions for children has increased as coverage has decreased; Last school year, vaccine exemptions reached the highest level ever reported in the US. 3.3% of kindergarteners had exemptions for one or more required immunizations, CDC data show, and most were medically exempt.
Local health officials are concerned about declining vaccination coverage among America's kindergarteners and what it could mean for public health concerns, said Lori Tremmel Freeman, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
“The broader story is that immunization coverage has declined in 35 states, and 14 of the 35 states have fallen by at least one full percentage point, and nearly 280,000 students are without full immunization coverage,” Freeman said.
But when you think more about local communities and neighborhoods, the risk can be even more different because you're looking at these larger vaccine-mediated communities. “In these communities we often see congregations of the same people together, and because they all share the same beliefs, disease can spread quickly.”
In communities where vaccination coverage is lagging, it creates an environment for disease to spread. Some local health departments have seen outbreaks of infectious diseases in pockets of communities with low vaccination rates, Freeman said.
In the year There was an outbreak of measles in Chicago this year.at least where 57 cases You are connected to a refugee shelter. And in A elementary school In Broward County, Florida, the legislature declared a public health emergency.
As of early 2024, more than two dozen states have reported measles infections. There were more reported cases in March than in all of 2023, according to the CDC Data.
Rapid increase of CDC nationally – increased significantly in recent years a A renewed threat to the country's disease prevention status.
Measles vaccination coverage among preschoolers varies widely by state, but only about a dozen states have met the federal goal of 95 percent measles vaccination among preschoolers, according to new CDC data.
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“While it's encouraging to know that more than 9 out of 10 children are receiving recommended vaccinations, seemingly small declines (from 93.1% MMR vaccine coverage to 92.7% coverage, for example) can have a large negative impact,” said Amy Pisani, CEO of the nonprofit Immunize Your Family. The advocacy organization said in a statement. “These data are important because every reduction in coverage increases the risk that all of our children will be exposed to serious infectious diseases that were once a thing of the past.”
Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease. can cause serious health consequences or death, Especially for young people and unvaccinated children.
Common symptoms may include fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes, and a rash of red spots. About 1 in 5 unvaccinated people in the US will be hospitalized if they get measles, according to the CDC. About 1 in 20 children will get pneumonia, and others can develop a dangerous inflammation of the brain called encephalitis. Up to 3 in 1,000 children who contract measles may die from respiratory and neurological complications.