As antivax sentiments take hold of American parents, the proportion of children exempt from school vaccinations is on the rise.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that for the 2021-2022 school year, 2.6 percent of kindergarteners in the US had vaccine exemptions, up from 2.2 percent in the previous year.
The increase in exemptions is predominantly due to non-medical reasons such as religious or philosophical beliefs, suggesting that genuine health concerns are not the primary factor.
The states with the highest rates of kindergartener vaccination exemptions are Idaho (9.8 percent), Utah (7.4 percent), Oregon (7 percent), Arizona (6.8 percent), and Wisconsin (6.3 percent).
The above graph illustrates the trend in vaccination exemptions, including medical and non-medical exemptions, over the past 11 school years.
The above map highlights the state-by-state rates of vaccination exemptions for the 2021-2022 school year, emphasizing the top five states with the highest exemption percentages.
In the 2021-2022 school year, 2.3 percent of kindergarteners with any exemption had non-medical exemptions, compared to 1.9 percent in the previous year.
Kindergarten vaccinations typically include protection against diseases like chickenpox, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis.
Medical exemptions, granted when a child has a health condition preventing vaccination, have remained relatively consistent over the past 11 school years.
In the 2021-2022 school year, only 0.2 percent of kindergarteners had medical exemptions.
Mississippi, New York, and West Virginia have the lowest percentages of vaccine exemptions, all at 0.1 percent. California has a rate of 0.2 percent, and Washington, DC has a rate of 0.5 percent.
Each state has its own vaccination requirements and exemption guidelines. Some states mandate all vaccines for kindergarten admission, while others only require a subset initially, deferring the rest to later grades.
Exemptions are categorized into medical and non-medical reasons. Religious or philosophical exemptions are not allowed in a handful of states, including New York, California, Connecticut, Maine, Mississippi, and West Virginia.
In most cases, parents need documentation from a medical doctor to support their claim for an exemption, which is then reviewed and granted by the child’s school.
Unfortunately, as the antivax movement grows, the number of people seeking fake exemptions is also increasing. Some individuals are even willing to bribe doctors to fabricate medical excuses to avoid vaccination.
In response, some states are taking legislative measures to combat this fraudulent practice and prevent fake exemptions.
For instance, in 2019, California State Sen. Richard Pan introduced a bill that required the state health department to review all medical exemptions and established a database to track doctors issuing an unusually high number of exemptions.
The bill was successfully passed in September 2019.
Although a change of one or half a percentage point may seem insignificant, it can put thousands of children at risk of deadly diseases and jeopardize herd immunity.
Herd immunity occurs when a significant proportion of the population becomes immune to a disease through vaccination or prior infection, providing indirect protection from contagion.
A decline in herd immunity can lead to the resurgence of previously eradicated diseases.
Experts attribute the decline in vaccination rates in the US partly to the impact of Covid-19.
Although Covid vaccines are not currently required for school attendance, they have contributed to vaccine hesitancy.
Following the release of Covid vaccines, the proportion of parents claiming vaccine exemptions increased from 2.2 percent in the 2020-2021 school year to 2.6 percent in the 2021-2022 school year.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leading infectious disease expert, acknowledged that Covid vaccine policies were counterproductive and fueled vaccine skepticism instead of promoting acceptance.
Dr. Fauci expressed his concerns in an interview with The New York Times, pointing out the division and anti-science sentiment prevalent in the country.
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