Back to school season used to mean getting required vaccinations, but data shows that fewer children are getting shots as non-medical exemptions continue to climb.New data for the 2025-2026 school year from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows continued decreases in vaccination rates among U.S. kindergartners, while vaccine exemptions increased to 4.2% from 3.6% the year before.Experts say the decline is driven by rising vaccine hesitancy and misinformation.New Jersey generally has a higher vaccination rate than the national average, but coverage has declined in recent years along with the rest of the country.SEE ALSO: More N.J. parents are skipping childhood vaccines. Doctors are refusing to see their kids.CDC data shows 92.5% of New Jersey kindergartners received the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. That’s higher than the U.S. median of 91.5%, but down from 92.8% the year before.Vaccinations also declined for several other serious and potentially fatal diseases, including diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, polio and chickenpox, CDC data shows.The CDC says more than 95% of people in a community need to be vaccinated to establish herd immunity from diseases like measles. Low vaccination rates increase the chance of outbreaks and severe illness in a community.New Jersey’s immunization dashboard does not yet have county-level data for the 2025-2026 school year.Data from the 2024-2025 academic year shows 92.1% of public school kids — which includes pre-K, elementary, middle and high school, charter schools and Head Start programs — received all their age-appropriate vaccines. That’s down from 92.9% the year before.By comparison, coverage was 89.8% in non-public schools, which includes private pre-K and childcare facilities, private schools and religious schools. That’s a decline from 91.6% the year before.Can’t see the map below? Click here.New Jersey has had statewide immunization requirements for public and private schools since 1975.When the rules were first adopted, then-Health Commissioner Joanne E. Finley said the new regulations “will aid in preventing future outbreaks of immunizable disease,” according to a 1975 Star-Ledger article.The state also made provisions to exempt students for medical or religious reasons. More and more students are skipping vaccines for non-medical reasons in recent years.Statewide, the overall percent of kids, public and non-public, skipping vaccines for religious reasons has more than doubled from 2.4% in 2017-2018 to 5% in 2024-2025.During the 2024-2025 school year, eight counties reported non-medical vaccine exemptions above 5% in their public schools, with one county exceeding 10%. The exemptions tend to be even higher in private institutions. During the same school year, 15 counties reported exemptions exceeding 5% among non-public schools, with two counties surpassing 15%.Under the Trump administration, the CDC has overhauled longstanding childhood vaccine policy. Most recently, President Donald Trump signed an executive order recommending a maximum of 11 childhood vaccinations. At the Aug. 10 signing, Trump also advocated for separating the MMR vaccine into three separate shots, stating that “together there could be a possibility they’re quite lethal.”No scientific evidence was presented to support the claim. More than 210 leading medical, health and patient advocacy organizations released a joint statement condemning the executive order.While the updated guidance doesn’t prevent parents from choosing specific shots for their kids, experts say it can cause confusion and discourage people from getting vaccinated for preventable diseases.New Jersey has rejected many of the federal government’s changes.In an Aug. 18 statement, the New Jersey Department of Health said it stood by the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, a regional public health coalition it helped form in September 2025.The group endorses the childhood immunization schedule released by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which continues to recommend protection against 18 diseases through its 2026 immunization schedule.”Families deserve clear, science-based guidance, not confusion,” said Dr. Raynard E. Washington, commissioner for the state Department of Health, in a press release.”The evidence behind childhood vaccines is clear, it has not changed, and New Jersey will continue to make sure every family can access the vaccines that keep their children safe,” said Washington.Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
