By Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/b><\/p>\n
THURSDAY, Oct. 3, 2024 (HealthDay News) — In yet another sign that childhood vaccinations can’t be taken for granted, new government data show that a record number of kindergartners were exempted from the required shots during the last school year.<\/p>\n
That leaves more than 125,000 new students without the protection of at least one childhood vaccine, even as measles vaccination rates among kindergartners have already fallen below a federal target for four years running, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, by July of this year U.S. measles cases were already triple that of all of 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u0080\u009cPublic health officials are concerned about decreased vaccination rates in kindergarteners. Childhood vaccines are safe and effective and have made a profound difference in reducing suffering and death from what were once dreaded infectious diseases,\u00e2\u0080\u009d Dr. Marcus Plescia<\/a>, chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, told CNN.<\/em><\/p>\n Lori Tremmel Freeman<\/a>, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, echoed that worry.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u0080\u009cThe broader story is that vaccination coverage decreased in 35 states, and 14 states out of those 35\u00a0had at least one full percentage point drop,\u00e2\u0080\u009d Freeman told CNN<\/em>. “What that translates to is about 280,000 students without proof of complete vaccinations.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/p>\n \u00e2\u0080\u009cBut the more you consider local communities and neighborhoods, the more the risk can be different, because you see these larger pockets of vaccine-hesitant communities,\u00e2\u0080\u009d she said. \u00e2\u0080\u009cWe often see congregations of the same people together in these communities, and disease can spread rapidly because they all have similar beliefs.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/p>\n How big is the dip in measles vaccination rates?<\/p>\n The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has set a\u00a0goal<\/a>\u00a0that at least 95% of children in kindergarten get two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, a threshold that helps prevent outbreaks of the highly contagious disease.<\/p>\n However, coverage dipped during the pandemic and it hasn’t rebounded. The measles vaccination rate fell again last year, to 92.7% coverage for kindergartners in the 2023-24 school year, the CDC data showed.<\/p>\n Rates for other state-mandated vaccinations — including diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis, known as DTaP, and polio — also dropped.<\/p>\n Last school year, vaccine exemptions reached the highest level ever reported, with roughly 3.3% of kindergartners getting an exemption for one or more required vaccines. The vast majority were non-medical exemptions, the data showed.<\/p>\n Not surprisingly, there have already been outbreaks this year of infectious diseases in pockets of communities with low vaccination rates, Freeman said.<\/p>\n There was a\u00a0measles outbreak<\/a> last March in Chicago, where at least\u00a057 cases\u00a0were linked to a migrant shelter, along with a February outbreak at an\u00a0elementary school<\/a>\u00a0in Florida\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Broward County.<\/p>\n Measles is a highly contagious disease that can cause serious health consequences or death,\u00a0especially for young\u00a0and unvaccinated children.<\/p>\n General symptoms may include fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes and a rash of red spots. About 1 in 5 unvaccinated people will be hospitalized, according to the CDC<\/a>. Roughly 1 in every 20 children will develop pneumonia, and others may develop a dangerous swelling in the brain called encephalitis. Up to 3 of every 1,000 children who become infected with measles may die from respiratory and neurological complications.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u0080\u009cWhile it\u00e2\u0080\u0099s encouraging to know that more than 9 out of every 10 children ARE receiving their recommended vaccines, the seemingly small decreases [from 93.1% MMR vaccine coverage to 92.7% coverage, for example] can have an outsized negative impact,\u00e2\u0080\u009d Amy Pisani<\/a>, CEO of Vaccinate Your Family, a nonprofit group, told CNN<\/em>. \u00e2\u0080\u009cThese data points matter because each drop in coverage places all our children at increasing risk of serious infectious diseases that were once a thing of the past.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n The World Health Organization has more on the measles<\/a>.<\/p>\n