The U.S. child vaccination rates continue to fall in the 2021-’22 schoolyear -study

(Reuters) – The vaccination rates of kindergarten children against potentially deadly diseases like polio and measles fell in the 2021-2022 school years, extending the previous-year’s slide from prepandemic levels, a U.S. government survey showed on Thursday.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the drop in vaccination rates for the most frequently required childhood vaccines is due to COVID-19’s disruption to healthcare and the need for vaccination coverage to return to pre-pandemic levels.

“We’re still trying to understand the extent to which misinformation around COVID vaccine has spread to misinformation about other childhood vaccines,” Sean O’Leary, American Academy of Pediatrics chair of Committee on Infectious Diseases said on a call with reporters.

According to the CDC report, overall, the number of people who received state-required vaccines fell to 93% in last year. This is down from 94% in previous school year and 95% for the 2019-2020 school school year.

The CDC stated that 250,000 children in kindergarten were at risk of being exposed to measles with a vaccination rate of 93.5%, which is below the national target 95%.

All states in the United States require measles and rubella vaccines. Iowa is the only exception. All states must also have the combined diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis shot as well as the vaccine against Poliovirus. 49 states, however, require vaccinations against varicella or chickenpox.

The 2.6% exemption rate for vaccinations that may be granted by the state in cases where parents request them, remained low. However, 3.9% more people who never asked for exceptions were not up-to date on the measles mumps rubella (MMR), shot.

Researchers from the CDC were part of the study’s authors. They stated that it was limited by variations in state guidelines and data collection techniques. This could have resulted in missing certain children, such as home-schooled children.

O’Leary explained that the data suggests that the U.S. should put more emphasis on access and poverty to improve vaccination rates.

(Reporting by Sriparna in Bengaluru; Editing and editing by Caroline Humer & Bill Berkrot