CDC data released August 17, 2026 shows that in 2025-26, vaccination coverage among kindergartners decreased for all reported vaccines compared to the previous year. In fact, the rate of kindergartners entering school exempt from one or more vaccines continued its upward trend during the 2025-26 school year, with 4.2% of kindergartners being exempted — up from 3.6% in the previous year, according to data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccine exemption rates for these young students increased in 41 states and the District of Columbia, and 24 states reported exemptions exceeding 5%.
Further, about 280,000 kindergartners attended school without documentation of completing the MMR vaccine last school year, CDC said. The number of reported measles cases for people of all ages already reached a 35-year high nationally by July 30th of this year.
An August 10, 2026 executive order reduced the number of immunizations to provide protection against 11 diseases, rather than the 18 diseases recommended by CDC in 2024.
According to the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) in an August 11, 2026 statement, conflicting vaccine recommendations can “create confusion for families, complicate school health practice, and undermine confidence in vaccines that have protected generations of children.” The statement came after an August 10, 2026 executive order reduced the number of immunizations to provide protection against 11 diseases, rather than the 18 diseases recommended by CDC in 2024.
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