Pediatrician cites turmoil in federal vaccine guidance as root cause
Federal data released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the share of kindergarteners exempted from vaccines reached an all-time high of 4.2% during the 2025-2026 school year, the fourth consecutive year the national average exemption rate has set a new record.
The figure represents an estimated 155,000 children exempted nationally, according to the CDC figures, up from 3.6% in the prior school year. Exemptions rose in 41 states and the District of Columbia, with the overwhelming majority of exemptions reflecting nonmedical parental objections rather than medical contraindications.
Dr. James Campbell, a physician with the American Academy of Pediatrics, attributed the trend to turmoil caused by federal health officials in vaccination recommendation systems. “The root cause of this is primarily because there’s so much chaos and confusion in vaccination recommendation systems in the last year or so,” Campbell said.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom the Associated Press described in its reporting as a leading voice in the antivaccine movement before President Donald Trump appointed him to lead federal health agencies, has sought repeatedly over the past 18 months, with other federal officials, to revise and reduce childhood vaccination guidance, according to the AP.
Earlier this month, Trump called for revamped childhood vaccination recommendations that promote his theory that childhood shots should be spaced out into separate medical visits — a position the AP described in its reporting as discredited.