NEW YORK —\u00a0Vaccination rates for U.S. kindergarteners dropped again last year, and federal officials are starting a new campaign to try to bring them up.
\nUsually, 94% to 95% of kindergarteners are vaccinated against\u00a0measles, tetanus and certain other diseases. The vaccination rates dropped below 94% in the 2020-2021 school year, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
\nA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released Thursday found rates dropped again in the 2021-2022 school year, to about 93%.
\nThe pandemic disrupted vaccinations and other routine\u00a0health\u00a0care for children, and also taxed the ability of school administrators and nurses to track which children weren’t up-to-date on shots. CDC officials said decreased confidence in\u00a0vaccines\u00a0is another likely contributor.
\n\u201cI think it’s a combination of all those things,” said Dr. Georgina Peacock, director of CDC\u2019s immunization division.
\nHealth officials focus on kindergarten because it’s when most children enter school systems. Public schools typically require vaccinations as a condition of attendance, though some exemptions are allowed.
\nSuch exemptions were up slightly last school year, but the CDC\u2019s Shannon Stokley said they are not the main driver of the decrease. Rather, more schools relaxed their policies to allow enrollment while giving families a grace period to get shots, she said.
\nThe new numbers suggest that as many as 275,000 kindergartners lack full vaccine protection.
\nFalling vaccination rates open the door to outbreaks of diseases once thought to be in the rearview mirror, experts say. They point to a case of paralytic polio reported last year in New York, and to recent measles surges in Minnesota and Ohio.
\nThose outbreaks coincide with anecdotal and survey information suggesting more parents are questioning bedrock childhood vaccines long celebrated as public health success stories.<\/p>\n