Childhood vaccination rates in the US are declining, reaching a record low of 92.5% for MMR and polio vaccines in the 2024-25 school year. This coincides with a 33-year high in measles cases (1333). 4.1% of kindergartners had vaccine exemptions, mostly non-medical. Experts, like Dr. Richard Besser, blame the rise in exemptions partly on the anti-vaccine stance of the current HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a claim the HHS denies. The decrease in vaccination coverage increases the risk of outbreaks of preventable diseases.

Prepared by Olivia Bennett and reviewed by editorial team.