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* NBC News…
The vast majority of counties across the United States are experiencing declining rates of childhood vaccination and have been for years, according to an NBC News data investigation, the most comprehensive analysis of vaccinations and school exemptions to date. […]
• Since 2019, 77% of counties and jurisdictions in the U.S. have reported notable declines in childhood vaccination rates. The declines span from less than 1 percentage point to more than 40 percentage points.
• Vaccine exemptions for school children are rising nationwide: As many as 53% of counties and jurisdictions saw exemption rates more than double from their first year of collecting data to the most recent.
• Among the states collecting data for the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, 68% of counties and jurisdictions now have immunization rates below 95% — the level of herd immunity doctors say is needed to protect against an outbreak.
* National MMR vax rate map…
Yikes.
* Now, zoom in on Illinois…
Cook is at 94.9 percent, so it’s moving into a danger zone.
* NBC 5…
Among the [Chicago area] districts with the lowest reported [MMR vaccination] rates were Alsip-Hazelgreen-Oak Lawn School District 126 in Cook County, Zion Elementary School District 6 in Lake County and Chicago Public Schools.
District 126 reported 87.51% of students were vaccinated, but the superintendent told NBC Chicago the district did not submit all records in time for state analysis and claimed the actual rate was 97.8%.
Meanwhile, District 6 reported 72.3% of students were vaccinated. The district attributed the decline to “shifting demographics, policy landscapes, access barriers, misinformation, and data/measurement changes,” and emphasized its commitment to a safe learning environment.
Chicago Public Schools reported a 93.05% vaccination rate. As of publication, CPS has not responded to NBC Chicago’s request for comment.
Click here to search for school districts statewide.
* Another real problem is St. Louis…
The rate of children starting kindergarten in St. Louis with all the state-required vaccines has plummeted from 91.6% during the 2010-2011 school year to 75.9% in 2024-2025. […]
In 2010, almost 90% of kindergartners attending school within the St. Louis city limits had received their recommended MMR shots, which prevent nearly all cases of measles — the most contagious virus known in the world. In the last school year, MMR coverage rates among kindergartners plummeted to 74%.
Luckily, all the Illinois counties nearest to St. Louis have 97-98+ MMR vax rates.
Believe it or not, Arkansas and Mississippi appear to have very strong vax rates.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 8:47 am
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The rural Wisconsin numbers will scare all the Illinoisans who visit WI.
Comment by Annon3 Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 9:08 am
==Believe it or not, Arkansas and Mississippi appear to have very strong vax rates.==
Huh, I’m surprised. West Virginia too? I thought it was that color because they didn’t submit data.
Comment by ElTacoBandito Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 9:15 am
Cancelling the family trip to Albuquerque.
Comment by City Zen Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 9:16 am
==The district attributed the decline to “shifting demographics, policy landscapes, access barriers, misinformation, and data/measurement changes==
District 6 is 61% Hispanic. Both D126 and CPS also have over 40% Hispanic student body.
They might be onto something.
Comment by City Zen Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 9:30 am
Had exact same thought as ElTacoBandito…
Comment by ChicagoBars Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 9:30 am
BTW, something I recently learned from my doc: There were two versions of the MMR vaccine given between 1963 and 1967, one of them more effective and longer lasting than the other. The CDC recommends that anyone who was vaccinated back then — and who might have received the inactivated, or “killed,” measles vaccine — should be re-vaccinated with the more modern version.
60 years after the fact, it obviously can be hard to know which vaccine version one received. So it’s a good idea to talk with your doctor about getting a new shot to cover your bases.
Comment by Linus Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 9:35 am
You’re going to see Florida get worse since they now favor bringing the measles, polio and whatever other preventable diseases they can bring back with their deplorable removal of vaccine mandates.
Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 9:42 am
==Believe it or not, Arkansas and Mississippi appear to have very strong vax rates.==
Both states passed some very strong vaccine requirements that removed a lot of religious exemptions etc. pre-COVID before vaccination became so polarized. Would never happen today sadly.
Comment by Sam Naik Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 9:48 am
For Coles and Champaign counties, I’d be curious if the college populations help or hurt their numbers
Comment by fs Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 9:48 am
Mississippi just changed the law I believe, but had the most stringent vaccination law in the country allowing for only medically approved exemptions. I don’t know for sure with WV & AR, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had strong laws. The weakest laws were generally in wealthier states.
Comment by ArchPundit Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 10:00 am
Maps like these very often don’t have clear distinctions along state or other human-made boundaries. The fact that you can see clear state outlines here is a testament to the impact of public policy on the vaccine issue.
Comment by I-55 Fanatic Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 10:16 am
== For Coles and Champaign counties, I’d be curious if the college populations help or hurt their numbers ==
The students help the numbers. State law requires MMR, DTaP, and meningitis vaccines to enroll for all in-person college students. My guess is that the drag on percentages are the pockets of crunchy types who have been against vaccine mandates before it was the popular thing to be against.
Comment by Leap Day William Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 10:17 am
This is so awful. I took my kids everywhere with me when they were infants. Now I’d be afraid that a too-little=to-vaccinate baby would be exposed to a potentially deadly illness
Comment by Soccermom Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 10:26 am
Add WV to the AR and MS surprise numbers. Surprising outlier to me in the other direction in New Mexico. I’d be curious what the breakdown there is.
Comment by Homebody Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 10:39 am
The r in that vax is rubella. That is a milid disease for children but devastating to to fetus , so is really there to protect pregnant woman. I had a friend who was teacher who taught deaf and hearing inpaired children. Over her career the demand and number of children who were impacted by this disease slowly declined because of this vax. I guess people might consider this as a growing career option as deafness in children will surely come back.
Comment by Banish Misfortune Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 10:48 am
Of course, vax your kids, but for those of us who have adult kids (sob) we are getting to the age it’s not bad to have your titers checked and see if you still have immunity. With your doctor you can get an update. For me, there was no downside, so I added a booster a year ago for MMR. And over 45 get your shingles shot.
Comment by ArchPundit Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 10:50 am
West Virginia was a model for other states early in the pandemic in terms of community workers encouraging residents to get vaccinated, so that makes sense there. And, surprisingly, Arkansas has been at the forefront of a lot of health issues before it got all politicized. A lot of what they’ve done on the pharmacy benefit manager regulations has been copied by Illinois and other states.
Comment by Treefiddy Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 11:07 am
Rich. are the st louis numbers including private school vaccinations
Comment by Blue Dog Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 11:11 am
===Rich. are the===
Maybe click the story?
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 11:16 am
—I’d be curious what the breakdown there is.
Part is poverty especially on Tribal lands and then you also have the anti-vaxxers in places like Taos. Three things drive the vax rate differences in states:
1) State Law/Policy (MS, AR, WV as examples)
2) Poverty
3) Anti-vax sentiment (become more conservative in recent years after being equally divided in the 2000-2010 period)
In conservative circles it wasn’t always the loudest but there is a natural medicine thread that isn’t dominant but was about as strong as the crunchier types of anti-vaxxers. That group grew as we created dysfunctional information environments. Some Mormons also fit this with a strong belief in supplements and a lot of multi-level marketing coming out of Utah that promote that kind of natural health belief. Orin Hatch was a huge driver of the lack of regulation of supplements due to these factors.
If it seems I’m talking more about the conservative wing of anti-vaxxers that’s true but mostly because if I start talking about the crunchy liberal types Rich would have to ban me for my comments.
Comment by ArchPundit Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 11:22 am
=== The rural Wisconsin numbers will scare all the Illinoisans who visit WI.===
Not me. I’m vaccinated.
Comment by Da big bad wolf Wednesday, Sep 17, 25 @ 11:41 am