The percentage of American kindergartners exempted from vaccinations for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) rose significantly in the 2025-26 school year. Overall vaccination rates have continued to decline.
New federal data released on Monday highlighted that vaccine exemptions among kindergartners in the U.S. increased to 4.2% from 3.6% the previous year. At the same time, overall vaccination coverage for reported vaccines such as MMR, DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis), polio, and varicella fell slightly.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 92.4% of students received the MMR vaccine, below the 95% rate necessary to prevent widespread outbreaks. The U.S. is facing the worst measles epidemic in 35 years. The coverage rate has been steadily declining since the 2019-20 school year, when it was 95.2%. It has since remained below 94%.
All states and the District of Columbia require children be vaccinated against certain diseases to attend public schools. Exemptions are allowed in some cases, including for religious or philosophical reasons. Data show a marked increase in non-medical exemptions across more states.
The CDC warned that areas with high vaccination coverage but pockets of undervaccinated children might experience outbreaks. This decline in vaccine coverage is happening amid proposals for changes to federal vaccination policy and ongoing debates over COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Recent CDC reports noted over 2,500 measles cases last week. Of these, 93% were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status.
President Trump’s executive order suggesting the separation of the measles, mumps, and rubella shots across three appointments faced criticism from the pharmaceutical industry, citing a lack of scientific basis.
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