Surge in Non-Medical Vaccine Exemptions Raises Herd-Immunity Concerns

During the 2025-26 school year, roughly 4 percent of U.S. kindergarteners received a non-medical exemption for at least one routine childhood vaccine, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This represents an 18 percent increase over the previous year and marks the largest annual rise recorded in more than a decade. The CDC’s report highlights that the growth in exemptions coincides with a broader national trend of states reconsidering or loosening school-vaccine mandates.

New York Times

Exemption rates differ sharply across states. In Utah—where school-vaccine laws are among the most permissive—nearly 13 percent of kindergarteners held a religious or personal exemption for at least one vaccine. The state is simultaneously experiencing a months-long measles outbreak that has infected more than 700 people. By contrast, New York, which eliminated religious exemptions in 2019, reported no non-medical exemptions for the same cohort.

New York Times

The CDC and other health officials warn that rising exemption levels threaten community immunity thresholds needed to curb highly contagious diseases such as measles, pertussis, and measles. Experts note that when exemption rates climb, the risk of outbreaks increases, especially in regions where local exemption clusters exceed the herd-immunity benchmark.

New York Times

The CDC’s latest school-vaccine exemption dataset was released on a Monday in August 2026, providing the most recent nationwide snapshot of exemption trends.

New York Times

Public-health authorities anticipate that states may revisit exemption policies as the data become clearer. Some legislators are already proposing tighter exemption criteria, while others argue for preserving parental choice. The CDC plans to update its exemption monitoring annually, offering a basis for future decisions on school-entry vaccine requirements.

New York Times