CDC reports the highest childhood vaccine exemption rate ever
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The number of kids whose caregivers are opting them out of routine childhood vaccines has reached an all-time high, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday, potentially leaving hundreds of thousands of children unprotected against preventable diseases like measles and whooping cough.
The report did not dive into the reasons for the increase, but experts said the findings clearly reflect Americans' growing unease about medicine in general.
"There is a rising distrust in the health care system," said Dr. Amna Husain, a pediatrician in private practice in North Carolina, as well as a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Vaccine exemptions "have unfortunately trended upward with it."
The CDC report found that 3% of children entering kindergarten during the 2022-2023 school year were granted a vaccine exemption from their state. This is the highest exemption rate ever reported in the U.S.
Forty states saw rises in exemptions. In 10 states — Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah and Wisconsin — the exemption rate soared over 5%.
"This is quite a jump," said Ranee Seither, a CDC epidemiologist and author of the new report. Just three years ago, Seither said, only two states had an exemption rate of more than 5%.
Idaho was a standout in the new report. More than 12% of children entering kindergarten in that state had a vaccine exemption in 2022.
The trend appears to coincide with doubts about Covid vaccines.
"So many people were reluctant to get that new vaccine," said Dr. Mysheika Roberts, health commissioner for Columbus Public Health. She feared that it would "have a trickle-down effect and impact vaccination coverage for our children."
The report also found that vaccination rates among young kids have remained stagnant following a pandemic-related dip in coverage.
As of the 2022-2023 school year, vaccination coverage among kindergartners remained at 93%. Before the pandemic, the rate had consistently hovered around 95%.
Generally, populations need 95% immunity to protect against viral outbreaks.
"The fact that we haven't been able to recover is concerning," said Shannon Stokley, deputy director for science implementation in CDC's Immunization Services Division. "It means there are children who may be unprotected from very serious diseases."
While states differ in their vaccination requirements for attending public and most private schools, they generally include vaccines to protect against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP), poliovirus and chickenpox.
Some states require medical evidence that a child cannot receive a vaccine. In others, parents cite religious or other personal concerns about vaccines.
"It's very easy to get an exemption in the state of Ohio," Roberts said. "Very easy."
It was Roberts who dealt with a measles outbreak in central Ohio this time last year. The first cases were associated with a person who had traveled overseas to an area with an ongoing measles outbreak.
But the virus quickly spread among children left unprotected. Kids who had not been vaccinated against measles, Roberts said, were infected just by being in the same doctor's office as kids sickened with measles.
Overall, 85 people became ill, all under the age of 16. No deaths were reported, but 36 of those patients had to be hospitalized, mostly for dehydration from intense diarrhea. All of this occurred during a time when hospitals were already dealing with surges in Covid, RSV and flu.
"We really have to have our guard up," said Dr. Julie Morita, executive vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former head of the Chicago Department of Public Health. "We've forgotten how bad these diseases actually are."
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Far right-wing fascism puts us all at risk.
Far right-wing science deniers put us all at risk
Here in the nation’s Capital, the D.C. Council voted Tuesday to repeal its coronavirus vaccine mandate for the city’s schoolchildren, a measure that was controversial when it passed in 2021 and was never enforced.
Damn fascists.
Welcome back 50+ years when childhood diseases were prevalent. Polio anyone? This all preventable, but parental stupidity allows it.
Measles has been struggling to make a comeback, this may be its chance.
Wouldn't surprise me. There's already been some cases of polio if I'm not mistaken.
When I was a kid I had a neighbor kid who would sometimes be out playing. She was deaf and blind because her mother had measles when she was pregnant. All she would do is wander around with a flashlight and shine it into her eyes. She could see the light and liked it I guess.
back 1960's suburbia I can remember being sent to other kids homes, along with all the other neighborhood children, that had come down with some childhood malady so that we could be exposed.
Friend got chickenpox when I was young, parents threw a party and all the kids from the neighborhood went with parents hoping we'd all catch the chickenpox. Back then this was normal, today it would border on abuse.
Yeah, I'm glad all 3 of my kids got chicken pox at the same time. That way we were done with it. They have a vaccine for it now though.
that's how I got chicken pox. dammit. shingles doesn't care...
How so? If you are vaccinated what ya gotta worry about?
They provide a place for the diseases to continue and mutate to a new type that will get by the vaccine I got
Good point.
Yes. Every time a virus replicates, there is a chance of mutation. Every mutation has the potential to produce viral particles that are different enough from the one used to produce the vaccine as to render the vaccine useless.
Basically evolution in action.
according to my late uncle, a biology professor, it'll be one pandemic after another while the ancient ice keeps melting at the poles.
I remember hearing that too. I believe there have been a few movies based on that premise as well.
I have to wonder why people can't see how serious this can be. They have the idea that measles (as an example) is not that serious. Thirty-six out of 85 kids from one outbreak needing hospitalization is pretty serious.
I guess people need to experience hardship before they learn. Learning from history doesn't seem to be working for the human race.
From everything I hear and read from people my parents' age, who saw time without the polio vaccine during their childhoods, their parents couldn't wait to get them vaccinated as soon as it was available. Everybody knew what an iron lung looked like, and could imagine how terrible life in one was, and wanted to avoid that for their children.
One of my college professors had a leg brace courtesy of polio when she was a child.
Yes, people trusted the Polio Vaccine. Do you recall why?
Dr Salk injected himself, his wife and his three sons in his kitchen after boiling the needles and syringes on his stovetop.
8 Things You May Not Know About Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine | HISTORY
He had the people's trust.
Literally hundreds of millions of people have been vaccinated for COVID including the families of the inventors of the vaccines. Where is your trust in them?
back in 1960 we got a sugar cube for polio instead of a vaccine. as an adult I had two older friends that had contracted polio. one was a golf pro and managed golf courses, the other was a waiter and eventually died an early death because of the damage the virus had done to his heart as a child.
I once experienced the shortest sales call in history after mocking an anti-vaxer to her face several years ago. I figured anyone that stupid would be a major problem after the sale, and during the project, and I was better off leaving.
I've had all of the covid vaccines. You see I was in the category that was most at risk. One of the few things that were really known about the virus is that it primarily attacked those over 65. I took it and quarantined.
That being said the "medical experts" made an awful lot of shit up as they went along, simply because they knew so little about the virus.
That is why people have lost faith in the "experts" hired by government.
gee, am I going to believe some idiot trumpster conspiracy nonsense or scientists that have spent their lives doing medical research? what to do, what to do.... /s
You are going to believe the Biden team.
Still waiting for the data.
Ok, and? Are the manufacturers of the MMR refusing to take it?
I'm going to "believe" the scientists over politicians and conspiracy nut jobs.
Scientists were dealing with a new virus in real time. They had to learn and deal with it on the fly. How much did you expect them to know? People seem to think scientists should have immediately known everything. But then, many people are also idiots.
scientists were on the job at least 6 months before the past loser in the white house even acknowledged that covid was a problem.
I expect professional people to be honest enough to say they don't know.
People lost businesses, careers and jobs.
The final report is in:
A scathing internally initiated review of how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention handled COVID-19 has found that its approach toward the pandemic failed to meet the moment of crisis, and offered a series of changes intended to revamp the agency and make it more nimble.
"For 75 years, CDC and public health have been preparing for COVID-19, and in our big moment, our performance did not reliably meet expectations," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement on Wednesday.
A fact sheet outlining the review, obtained by ABC News and confirmed by the CDC, said that the "need for change came through loud and clear."
During interviews with roughly 120 agency staff and key external stakeholders, the review found that it "takes too long for CDC to publish its data and science for decision making," that its guidance is "confusing and overwhelming" and that agency staff turnover during the COVID response "created gaps and other challenges for partners," according to findings obtained by ABC News.
Review finds CDC mishandled COVID-19 pandemic response - ABC News (go.com)
... unless they're the maga blowhard POTUS.
Of course they didn't know. Nobody did. They had to learn on the fly and everyone dealt with it in real time. It didn't help help that idiot politicians were getting in the way and inflatming a seemingly idiot population too. Apparently that hasn't changed either.
at least they're making it easier for a pandemic that will wipe out the morons among us...
Every recommendation the CDC made in the early days of Covid was in line with how one avoids a viral disease - physical distancing, and when that wasn't possible, barriers. But people didn't want to do either, and some, when they did bother, went about it wrong. I was in Walmart early on, before masks were available everywhere, and saw one worker who wasn't wearing a mask, but was wearing gloves. She had her gloved finger in her mouth. How the hell did that protect her from anything?
Then there were the anti-maskers, and the people who insisted on having social gatherings. And those who wore their masks under their noses.
And those who thought that Grandma staying home kept her safe, even though they took Grandma her groceries after having walked around the grocery store unmasked, themselves, and didn't mask when they brought her groceries in. They just wondered how Grandma got it, when she never left the house and only saw family who brought her food and toilet paper. They never stopped to think that they were the ones who brought Covid to Grandma.
If I recall it was the Trump team back then and, yes, I chose to believe them. I got vaccinated as soon as possible. The scientists were still learning about the virus then and still are now. Who should I listen to? Tucker Carlson?
Exactly. Precautions like masks and distancing were (and still are) common sense methods to reduce the risk of infection or spreading it. This is seen in Asian countries which have dealt with more epidemics in the past. The difference is, people in this country are spoiled or inconsiderate and do not like having anything done which puts them in a position of discomfort.
The problem is, the morons still put the rest of us at risk.
meh, they've elevated wearing a mask to the level of wearing a scarlet letter, and I have a big bottle of hand sanitizer in my car...
I'd say because people are either wilfully ignorant or just being stupid.
Have a dear friend whose daughter contracted the virus and has suffered from a severe case of neuropathy since. He is a long hauler who still cannot smell or taste.
And yet he insists that the imagined dangers of the vaccine pose a greater risk than the very real outcomes. An anecdotal example, but a potentially avoidable result if not for the misinformation being peddled, and that is the public concern.
Here’s to reflection, researching and reason.
Unfortunately, many people are unreasonable and/or irrational.
And we will also see a rise in diseases that we had basically eliminated. Fucking idiot parents.
If you want to see the results non getting a measles vaccine google “American Samoa measles epidemic” this was less then five years ago if I remember correctly.