Once seen as a crucial safeguard during the height of COVID-19, vaccines sparked heated debate on one campus, writes Anderson Stack at Brophy College Preparatory High School in Phoenix, Arizona. From strict early mandates to rising concerns over medical freedom, students, families, and public voices continue to question where the line should be drawn between public health and personal choice.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released data regarding vaccinations of kindergartners during the 2024-25 school year, the Associated Press reports.
- During the 2024-25 school year, vaccination coverage among kindergartners in the U.S. decreased for all reported vaccines from the year before, ranging from 92.1% for diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) to 92.5% for measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR) and polio vaccine.
- Coverage with MMR, DTaP, poliovirus vaccine (polio), and varicella vaccine (VAR) decreased in more than half of states, compared with coverage the year before.
- The number of kindergartners attending school without documentation of completing the MMR vaccine series was about 286,000 during the 2024-25 school year.
Although the decreasing vaccination rates among kindergartners reflect a national trend, immunization levels have fallen below the 95% rate recommended to protect communities in only some states.
Based on Anderson’s article, for whatever reason, more parent are demanding that their children be exempt from vaccines, objecting to them for medical reasons or, more commonly, religious reasons. As a result the percentage of kindergarten students whose parents requested an exemption from vaccination has risen in the past few years.
This comes during the worst outbreak of measles in the US in some 30 years. The CDC reported that as of Wednesday, 29 outbreaks and a total of 1,333 confirmed measles cases had been reported by 40 states so far in 2025. For comparison, 16 outbreaks and 285 cases were reported during 2024.