Measles cases rise as kindergarten vaccine exemptions hit record highs

newsAug 18, 2026295,068

Kindergarten vaccine exemptions reached a record high this school year, with exemptions rising in 41 states and the District of Columbia and coverage for major kindergarten vaccines falling in more than half the states. As of July 23, the United States has reported more measles cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 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 warn the outbreak reflects widening gaps in community protection; measles is typically the first vaccine-preventable disease to resurge when immunization rates fall. ProPublica reporting says Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Donald Trump have promoted policies and actions that have sown doubt about vaccine safety, and the president issued an executive order last week critics say could fuel hesitancy. The reporting also flags a separate risk: Kennedy has considered changes to a federal program that helps sustain the small number of companies making childhood vaccines, a move that could prompt manufacturers to leave the U.S. market and reduce access even for parents who want immunizations. A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said the agency has not limited access to vaccines and described Kennedy’s approach as an open review of safety data.

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.

382353d ago

Zomney Domnitz50

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

Thisistheforestsuccessional33

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

Dream9

Measles should have been a thing of the past, but it is making a comeback. Declining vaccination rates are putting children at risk again from a disease that is preventable.

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

The Sons of Ares8

The US certainly did not “let its guard down”. It was deliberate malice propelled by stupidity.

T Antony 🏳‍🌈7

RFK Jr should be prosecuted for endangering kiddies for fame and fortune. "Parents" are not to be excused; they should be prosecuted for endangering children.

Quoting this

Mark Ruffalo297

A man whose brain was eaten by a worm and who use to put live mice in a blender to feed his pet snake, and who has no medical background whatsoever is making decisions on the health of our children. That man is Robert Kennedy Jr.

SDDPHOTO7

A lot of children have incredibly stupid parents

Inactive Participant 🐸4

Thank the Secretary of Death ☠️

Karen Anderson2

Thanks to the Republicans and Trump

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.

JudyJaguarianJetta2

Charge Joe Rogan and Robert Kennedy Jr for endangering children to profit

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-...

30153d ago

Kasey Gifford100

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 Navickas41

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

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

19353d ago

The Bulwark

@thebulwark.com

Measles cases are at a 35-year high, kindergarten vaccine exemptions are surging, and the Trump administration is pressuring states to make opting out even easier. @citizencohn.bsky.social on the public-health disaster coming to a school near you. lnk.thebulwark.com/4wwM1Uz?utm_...

10352d ago

Tara1

So you think parents will have the right to know what the vaccination rate is for their kids’ schools?

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.

14453d ago

Eddie76

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

6353d 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!

6652d 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

4452d 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...

4352d 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.

4352d ago

Steve Cobb a.k.a. Kunga Tsöndru1

Because the anti-vaxxer nut jobs are working for the Antichrist.

QuilleTech1

Les données sont là, et pourtant on continue à voir des épidémies évitables qui repartent à la hausse. C’est à la fois rageant et incompréhensible.

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!

2952d 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...

3253d ago

Quoting this

Jennifer C. Martin22

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.

Mike Levin

@mikelevin.org

New CDC data shows kindergarten vaccine exemptions just hit an all time high. Meanwhile, we’re living through the worst measles year in this country since 1991, and the man running HHS built his career casting doubt on the vaccines that stop it.

3252d 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.

2153d 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...

1753d ago

Quoting this

Prasad Jallepalli, MD, PhD18

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%)

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

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Measles cases rise as kindergarten vaccine exemptions hit record highs

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