Measles cases rise as kindergarten vaccine exemptions hit record highs

newsAug 18, 2026243,786

CDC data show kindergarten vaccine exemptions climbed to a new high this year, with exemptions rising in 41 states and the District of Columbia and coverage for major childhood vaccines falling in more than half the states. As of July 23, the United States has recorded more measles cases than in any year since 1991; since the beginning of last year more than 4,850 people have been infected and three people have died, including two unvaccinated girls in West Texas. Public-health reporters and officials warn that measles is typically the first vaccine-preventable disease to surge when immunization rates drop, and falling coverage creates cracks in population protection that invite other deadly diseases to return. Reporting also documents policy shifts under Health and Human Services leadership and a recent presidential executive order that critics say are fueling vaccine hesitancy; HHS responded that open review of safety data is intended to rebuild trust. Investigations found officials are considering changes to a government program that could prompt some childhood vaccine manufacturers to leave the U.S. market, a development that could produce supply problems even for parents who want vaccines. The combination of record exemptions, declining coverage and possible supply risks increases the likelihood of further measles spread and raises the chance that other vaccine-preventable diseases will reemerge in the coming years.

ProPublica

@propublica.org

NEW: Measles Used to Be in Our Rearview Mirror. Now Cases Are Reaching Record Highs. In other parts of the world that have let their guard down to vaccine-preventable diseases, long-forgotten scourges have roared back and killed and disabled children.

29628h ago

Zomney Domnitz40

We are allowing incompetents to run every aspect of our government.

Thisistheforestsuccessional27

The ancestors of those not vaccinating their children would weep, knowing it was within these parents’ grasp to avoid watching their children suffer and maybe die from this disease

Aunt Patty13

Worth repeating: "..vaccine-preventable" "..killed and disabled children." This is parental abuse.

Squint Uso9

Ngl I feel like they should investigate the parents and charge them if they espoused anti-vaccines views when it comes to children. That should be non-negotiable considering children are required to be in a school

Lucy’sMom9

I got a booster this year when I got my shingles shot, the world has officially gone to shit!

celtdragon74151.bsky.social9

Yeah!, and Great Britain has eradicated Hepatitis-C, and the US is like, Oh well, just die horribly.

Quoting this

Cyndi4

Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases known. If one person has it, up to 90% of nearby unprotected people will become infected. A single infected person can pass the virus to between 12 and 18 others. /CDC

Jenny In Exile3

When I was a kid (60 years ago), we still got childhood diseases. I had mumps, chicken pox, and "German measles" (rubella). Friends of mine got scarlet fever and "scarletina," which I understood to be scarlet fever lite. What we didn't get was measles. Measles was a thing of the past.

Kisha3

Reminder that Measles cause immune amnesia - which means that your body forgets how to fight off infections. We need to shame people who stop vaccinating their kids because they got "doubts". The science is there.

BAM2

Bill Cassidy and his RFKjr YES vote can rot in hell. Children are suffering and dying from political malpractice. Measles should NOT be allowed to spread. Parents vaccinate your children. Follow expert pediatricians and CDC guidelines.

cloudzombie2

If you have access to health care, please consider getting the titers test for immunization. I'm only in my early 40's but needed to get the MMR vaccine again.

Harry Cleaver2

"let their guard down"? That's NOT what has happened! What has happened is that policy makers in government have decided to increase suffering by reducing vaccinations. This has been consistent with other Neoliberal policies designed to worsen workers' lives while transfering income to business.

Boulder Voter Rob2

Republicans did this. Only. Republicans.

JonSam2

Measles Tracker U.S. Measles Tracker | International Vaccine Access Center - from Johns Hopkins publichealth.jhu.edu/ivac/resourc... +++++ Mayo Clinic on Measles www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-con... #Measles #Vaccines #Health #Safety

Kasey Gifford

@kaseygifford.bsky.social

Our great great grandparents would be so fucking mad. We had nearly eradicated measles deaths and now we're one executive order away from bringing iron lungs out of retirement. foxsanantonio.com/news/nation-...

29518h ago

Kasey Gifford99

My partner has autism and I adore that part of her because it is in fact a part of her and not something to be feared. If you would rather your child die painfully from an entirely preventable illness than risk autism (there isnt even a real fucking link) you shouldn't be a fucking parent .

Tired Art Goblin10

I went to get my flu shot and the tech thanked me because they've been seeing so much vaccine hesitancy. :(

Quirky Cryptid8

its so embarrassing and frustrating to watch this happen. I hate that the distrust of the government and misinformation has become so low that this sort of thing is occuring.

Joe Flynn6

My grandfather had polio. He walked with braces most of his adult life. It fucking sucked for him. I distinctly remember this.

Michael Scally3

All this because upper class dipshits are fucking TERRIFIED of having to devote even one additional iota of emotional investment in their own children...

MoonSong3

"Don't play with the vaccinated children. They are going to infect you with autism" - Antivax parents

Quoting this

Breana Navickas40

...........If I say what I wanna say I'd be banned off of here. But this kinda shit makes me angry

danpolski.bsky.social

@danpolski.bsky.social

Absolutely. The requirement for proof of vaccination for the event held at their home is the smoking gun on this one. He's also on record saying his kids have been vaccinated against measles. He's an absolute fruitloop, but the fact he doesn't even believe in it makes it a million times worse.

11814h ago

Eddie57

Willing to kill others to further your agenda is just gestapo behaviour.

"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. "1

He believes in vaccines. He just doesn't want the public vaccinated. He has a sick desire to make people suffer and die!

Tom Carter

@thcarter123.bsky.social

Check the vaccination rates at your child or grandchild’s school. Another reason to move from red states death zones. Usually its smoking, drinking, fentanyl, obesity, etc killing adults. MAGA discovered a way to murder toddlers. No vaccine exemptions at my Thanksgiving. wapo.st/4bX1BSa

6310h ago

Jacqueline Antonovich

@jackiantonovich.bsky.social

Newspapers need to be very careful about how they report this, especially with their headlines. Yes, this is a huge issue that we need to be concerned about! But it's also important to point out that over 95% of parents of kindergarten students are *not* seeking exemptions. And that's a good thing!

636h ago

Charles Ornstein

@charlesornstein.bsky.social

“I think there always was a worst-case scenario,” a former CDC official said. “I don’t think I imagined it could or would be this bad.” Measles Used to Be in Our Rearview Mirror. Now Cases Are Reaching Record Highs. By @sheinvestigates.bsky.social

407h ago

Chris Morran

@themorrancave.bsky.social

"As of July 23, more measles cases have been reported to the CDC than in any year since 1991. It took less than seven months to blow past the three-decade high recorded last year." New, @sheinvestigates.bsky.social @propublica.org

2210h ago

Mack Butterfield

@mack2114.bsky.social

Vaccination should be required for everyone, with exemptions only for medical necessity. Vaccine resisters should be thought of like drunken drivers: people who recklessly endanger innocent strangers. Trump has made 'freedom' a cover for killing kids. www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

295h ago

Lisa2

They. Want. Us. To. Die.

Ms.Carter1

THIS : “Vaccine resisters should be thought of like drunken drivers: people who recklessly endanger innocent strangers.”

mogigo.bsky.social1

and every single one of the MAGA administration got vaccinated...even the sociopath Kennedy.

Quoting this

Ms.Carter3

THIS : “Vaccine resisters should be thought of like drunken drivers: people who recklessly endanger innocent strangers.”

Ars Technica

@arstechnica.com

The data lands as vaccine-preventable diseases continue to rise and spread in the US.

273h ago

Jack Pitney

@jpitney.bsky.social

CDC reports a record % of kindergartners with exemptions from vax requirements. Blame the antivaxxers and remember that vaccines don't cause autism. Click link for list of states with exemption rates over 5%. www.autismpolicyblog.com/2026/08/vacc...

307h ago

Quoting this

Jennifer C. Martin21

Y’all hate tankies until it comes to the lack of herd immunity from vaccines and more dead kids, and then you know in your heart what the answer should be. Well, the same is true of unregulated wealth and child exploitation and hunger here and abroad!

ETX Gov3

I realize we partially need a trifecta to fix this, but Minnesota we need to get off this list.

Timothy Caulfield

@caulfieldtim.bsky.social

Another impact of misinformation & the information chaos surrounding vaccines. Sum: grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. 😡 Kindergarten vaccine exemptions rose in 2025-2026: CDC www.axios.com/2026/08/17/k... #VaccinesWork!

225h ago

Dan

@arepublic86.bsky.social

foxsanantonio.com/news/nation-... This is why I call RFK Jr. Pestilence. Because he is that horseman. Spreading disease with his lies as parents believe him.

2010h ago

Kathleen Bachynski

@bachynski.bsky.social

Agree!! “Despite everything we’ve seen around vaccines over the past several years, the large majority of parents continue to support vaccines and continue to vaccinate their children,” said Jason Schwartz, an associate professor of health policy at the Yale School of Public Health.”

186h ago

J. Offir, PhD

@joffirphd.bsky.social

Gift 🎁 link. ~4% of US kindergartners received "a nonmedical exemption for at least one vaccine during the 2025-26 school year, an 18 [%] jump from the previous year." It's "the largest annual increase...in more than a decade...as a growing number of states... 1/2 www.nytimes.com/2026/08/17/w...

1614h ago

Quoting this

Prasad Jallepalli, MD, PhD17

it may not look like much of a difference, but it is: measles has an R₀ of 12 to 18 (number of people an infected person infects w/o vaccination) herd immunity [when the outbreak stops] follows the formula 1 - (1/R₀) 1-(1/12)=0.917 (91.7% vax) 1-(1/18)=0.944 (94.4%)

Craig Pittman

@craigtimes.bsky.social

Catholic bishops condemn #Florida AG James "Oopsie!" Uthmeier's threats over vaccination exemptions, vow to resist his attempted coercion pro.stateaffairs.com/fl/education...

136h ago

3 sources

washingtonpost.comKindergarten vaccine exemptions jump to another record high propublica.orgMeasles Used to Be in Our Rearview Mirror. Now Cases Are Reaching Record Highs.abcnews.comVaccine exemption rate for kindergarteners reaches record high: CDC

Measles cases rise as kindergarten vaccine exemptions hit record highsnews ABC sues FCC to block threat to its broadcast licensesnews

Measles cases rise as kindergarten vaccine exemptions hit record highs

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