Childhood vaccination rates continue to fall, including in the Midwest

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Childhood vaccination rates are down across the country, as well as exemption rates, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday.

According to The Associated Press, this is the fourth consecutive year that exemptions have risen across the United States and the majority of parents are not vaccinating for non-medical reasons. Exemptions went up in 41 states and the District of Columbia. 

Vaccination rates in Midwest states

By the numbers:

Vaccination rates in Midwestern states fell in the 2025-2026 school year as exemptions rose. Here's a look at vaccination rates nationally, and across the Midwest: 

Nationally: 

• Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine rate: 92.4%. (2024-2025 rate: 92.5%)
• Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTaP) vaccine rate: 92% (2024-2025 rate: 92.1%)
• Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine rate: 92.2% (2024-2025 rate: 92.1%)
• Hepatitis B vaccination rate: 94% (2024-2025 rate: 94%)
• Polio vaccination rate: 92.4% (2024-2025 rate: 92.5%)
• Vaccine exemption rate: 4.2% (2024-2025 rate: 3.6%) 

Illinois:

• MMR: 92.8% (2024-2025 rate: 91.8%)
• DTaP: 92% (2024-2025 rate: 91.2%)
• Chickenpox: 92.4% (2024-2025 rate: 91.3%)
• Hep B: Not required 
• Polio: 92.1% (2024-2025 rate: 91.5%)
• Vaccine exemption rate: 3.5% (2024-2025 rate: 2.8%)

Indiana:

• MMR: 90.1% (2024-2025 rate: 90.8%)
• DTaP: 88.4% (2024-2025 rate: 81.7%)
• Chickenpox: 89.5% (2024-2025 rate: 90.3%)
• Hep B: 92.6% (2024-2025 rate: 93.2%)
• Polio: 90.4% (2024-2025 rate: 87.7%)
• Vaccine exemption rate: 3.8% (2024-2025 rate: 2.6%)

Iowa:

• MMR: 88.9% (2024-2025 rate: 88.8%)
• DTaP: 88.9% (2024-2025 rate: 88.8%)
• Chickenpox: 88.9% (2024-2025 rate: 88.8%)
• Hep B: 88.9% (2024-2025 rate: 88.8%)
• Polio: 88.9% (2024-2025 rate: 88.8%)
• Vaccine exemption rate: 4.9% (2024-2025 rate: 3.9%)

Michigan:

• MMR: 90.9% (2024-2025 rate: 91.6%)
• DTaP: 90.8% (2024-2025 rate: 91.6%)
• Chickenpox: 90.6% (2024-2025 rate: 91.3%)
• Hep B: 91.5% (2024-2025 rate: 92.4%)
• Polio: 91.5% (2024-2025 rate: 92.2%)
• Vaccine exemption rate: 7.7% (2024-2025 rate: 6.8%)

Minnesota:

• MMR: 85.7% (2024-2025 rate: 86.5%)
• DTaP: 86.1% (2024-2025 rate: 87%)
• Chickenpox: 86.2% (2024-2025 rate: 86.7%)
• Hep B: 91.8% (2024-2025 rate: 92.3%)
• Polio: 86.7% (2024-2025 rate: 87.5%)
• Vaccine exemption rate: 6.9% (2024-2025 rate: 5.9%)

North Dakota:

• MMR: 88.5% (2024-2025 rate: 90%)
• DTaP: 88.2% (2024-2025 rate: 89.7%)
• Chickenpox: 88% (2024-2025 rate: 89.7%)
• Hep B: 91.6% (2024-2025 rate: 92.7%)
• Polio: 88.7% (2024-2025 rate: 89.1%)
• Vaccine exemption rate: 8.1% (2024-2025 rate: 7%)

South Dakota: 

• MMR: 89.3% (2024-2025 rate: 90%)
• DTaP: 88.6% (2024-2025 rate: 89.6%)
• Chickenpox: 88.8% (2024-2025 rate: 89.3%)
• Hep B: Not required 
• Polio: 88.6% (2024-2025 rate: 89.9%)
• Vaccine exemption rate: 6.9% (2024-2025 rate: 6.8%)

Wisconsin: 

• MMR: 85.1% (2024-2025 rate: 84.8%)
• DTaP: 86.4% (2024-2025 rate: 85.7%)
• Chickenpox: 84.3% (2024-2025 rate: 84%)
• Hep B: 92.2% (2024-2025 rate: 92.3%)
• Polio: 86.3% (2024-2025 rate: 86.8%)
• Vaccine exemption rate: 8.2% (2024-2025 rate: 7.6%)

Risks for children as vaccine rates drop

Why you should care:

Decreases in overall vaccination rates impact herd immunity. Herd immunity matters because some people cannot get vaccinated, such as people with allergies to certain vaccines and those with weak immune systems, usually from cancer, HIV/AIDS, Type 1 diabetes, and other conditions, according to Health and Human Services (HHS).

Herd immunity, or population/community immunity, also protects the small number of people who don't build up a strong response from vaccination. 

Rates of the MMR vaccine among children are going down to concerning levels that could impact herd immunity. Nationally, kindergarten and childhood measles coverage rates have dipped to 92.5%, well below the 95% threshold needed to prevent transmission of the measles virus. 

Local perspective:

A recent outbreak in Wisconsin is an example of a continuing trend across the state and country of rising measles infections. 

Other diseases that are prevented by childhood vaccines also require a certain threshold of the population to be immunized to maintain herd immunity. According to the University of Connecticut, for polio, an 80% vaccination rate must be attained to maintain herd immunity. For pertussis, better known as whooping cough, that rate is around 93%, according to the Michigan Public Health Association.

Routine childhood vaccination schedules executive order

Big picture view:

These statistics come as President Donald Trump announced an executive order last week aimed at childhood vaccinations that would require separating combination shots, including the MMR vaccine into separate injections. During the signing of his order, Trump repeated false claims about vaccinations, including their relationship to autism and that the MMR vaccine could be lethal, according to the AP.

Trump's executive order calls for federal officials to develop plans within 90 days for breaking up the MMR shot and spacing out other vaccines. However, pharmaceutical scientists and former regulators contend that those revisions would take years and require drug manufacturers to spend millions of dollars on new studies and manufacturing facilities.

Many public health experts were quick to condemn the president's executive order, according to the AP. 

Dr. Paul Offit, a Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia vaccine researcher and former government adviser, said the recommendations by Trump and Health and Human Services Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "are just not science based," and it’s irresponsible to cast doubt on a vaccine that protects against measles when the nation is facing its biggest epidemic in more than 30 years, according to the AP.