WASHINGTON (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data on Thursday showing that vaccination rates for three childhood vaccines fell in kindergartners in the 2020-21 school year compared to the 2019-20 school year, a "concerning" finding that may lead to more infections, according to a CDC immunizations expert.
In the most recent school year, kindergartners were vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella at a rate of 93.9 percent, diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis at a rate of 93.6 percent, and varicella at a rate of 93.6 percent.
"Vaccination coverage decreased by approximately one percentage point for all vaccines compared to the 2019-20 school year," the CDC researchers wrote.
The percentage of children who have a vaccine exemption remained the same as in 2019-20: 2.5 percent.
"While 2.2 percent of kindergartners had an exemption from at least one vaccine, an additional 3.9 percent of those who did not have a vaccine exemption were not up to date for MMR," the researchers wrote.
The findings were "concerning," according to Dr. Shannon Stokley, deputy director of the CDC's Immunization Services Division.
"Today's findings confirm previous data indicating a concerning decline in childhood immunizations that began in March 2020," she said.
"We are concerned that missed routine vaccinations may expose children to preventable diseases such as measles and whooping cough, which are extremely contagious and can be fatal, particularly in babies and young children."
The findings were derived from data submitted to the CDC by immunization programs in 47 states and the District of Columbia, totaling more than 3 million children. Exemption data was available in 48 states and the District of Columbia, and data on children in a vaccine "grace period" was available in 28 states.
"Nonexempt undervaccinated students frequently attend school while in a grace period or are provisionally enrolled; in many states, these policies were either formally or informally expanded during the 2020-21 school year," the researchers wrote.
The authors of the study suggested several possible links between this data and the COVID-19 pandemic, including limited access to appointments and the inability to collect data on vaccination rates.
"During the 2020-2021 school year, national vaccination coverage among kindergarten children fell from 95% to more than 94%. This may not seem like much, but it translates to at least 35,000 more children in the United States entering kindergarten without proof of complete vaccination against common diseases such as measles, whooping cough, and chickenpox "Dr. Georgina Peacock, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Immunization Services Division, stated on Thursday.
Peacock also stated that overall kindergarten enrollment has dropped by about 10%, implying that those children may be behind as well.
"With the majority of schools returning to in-person learning, additional effort is required to catch up children who missed vaccines and to maintain high levels of routine childhood vaccination and equitable coverage to help protect children, their families, and their communities against vaccine-preventable diseases," she said.
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