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Kindergarten Vaccination Rates Hold Steady

Kindergarten vaccination coverage rates for measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR); diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP); and varicella vaccine each approached 95% in the United States, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC report included 2016 to 2017 MMR, DTaP, and varicella vaccination coverage submitted by immunization programs in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Oklahoma and Wyoming did not report data.
The median vaccination coverage across the nation for two doses of MMR was 94.0%. The median vaccination rate for the state-required number of doses of DTaP was 94.5%. The median vaccination coverage rate for two doses of varicella vaccine was 93.8%.
Ranee Seither, MPH, an epidemiologist at the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia, and colleagues report that four states (California, New York, North Dakota, and Tennessee) all experienced increases in coverage of at least 1.5 percentage points for all reported vaccines. The authors published their findings in the October 13 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Since the 2011 to 2012 school year, the mean kindergarten exemption rate for MMR vaccination has remained at or below 2%. At this time, "[t]he mean percentage of kindergartners with an exemption from one or more required vaccines...is 2.0%," the authors write. They note that the exemption rate varies a great deal from state to state.
The median percentage of kindergartners attending school during a grace period or provisional enrollment was 2%, which was the same percentage as in 2015 to 2016.

Kindergarten Vaccination

Experts consider kindergarten vaccination requirements to be an excellent way to ensure children are fully vaccinated with the recommended age-appropriate vaccines. Thus, in an effort to protect students and communities against vaccine-preventable diseases, many state and local school systems require that children be fully vaccinated when they enter kindergarten. School nurses and other school personnel work with federally funded immunization programs to assess vaccination coverage and exemption status of children enrolled in public and private kindergartens.
States vary with regard to their requirements for vaccination, data collection, and definitions of grace period and provisional enrollment. Most states, however, require vaccination coverage for MMR, DTaP, and varicella.
Thirty states shared local-level school vaccination coverage. These data revealed that vaccination coverage varied at the local level.
The authors note that the data collected in their study should allow immunization programs to focus on schools with lower vaccination coverage and higher exemption levels. It should also make it possible for schools to follow up with undervaccinated students in the hopes of protecting them from vaccine-preventable diseases.
The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. Published online October 12, 2017. Full text

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