Measles vaccine exemption rates for kindergartners ‘concern’ MD superintendent

As Maryland students prepare to go back to school, new federal data showing a higher rate of measles vaccination exemptions in kindergartners has the state superintendent concerned.

“The latest data that did come out nationally anyway said that kindergarten immunization rates have dropped, and that is cause for concern because there are children that have died from having the measles,” Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Carey Wright said during a Tuesday virtual news conference. “I think not only the schools should be monitoring it, but I’m sure the Department of Health is going to be monitoring it, as well.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday that 4.2% of U.S. kindergarten students were exempted from school vaccine requirements during the 2025-26 school year, compared to the 3.6% during the prior one.

In Maryland, 0.4% of kindergartners were not vaccinated due to medical exemptions last academic year, and 2.1% skipped because of religious exemptions, the state Department of Health reported. Both figures are up from 2024-25, which saw 0.52% forgoing due to medical exceptions and 1.7% for religious ones.

“For some diseases like measles, even a small decrease in vaccination rates can lead to more outbreaks of disease because community immunity requires over 95% of susceptible individuals to be immunized,” Dr. Andrew D. Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in a statement Tuesday. “The risk is real.”

Measles cases, which were previously declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, are now on the rise across the country. The state Department of Health reported that 13 cases have cropped up in Maryland this year.

As of Thursday, the CDC confirmed 2,566 measles cases across 46 states and Washington, D.C. In 2025, there were 2,289 cases total.

In both 2025 and 2026, the most vulnerable population for measles infection was children aged 5 to 19, with 93% of infections occurring in those who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the CDC.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to reduce the number of recommended vaccines for children from 18 to 11. It also seeks to space out recommended childhood vaccines, including the one that protects against measles, mumps and rubella, and suggests that vaccines for those diseases be separated rather than administered together.

Additionally, Trump’s executive order dictates that states are obligated to provide religious and medical exemptions for childhood and adolescent vaccines.

“The only thing I can see is going to happen as a result of the announcement today is the injection of greater amounts of uncertainty and fear and confusion where there doesn’t need to be any,” Racine said of the executive order in an Aug. 11 statement.

Earlier this year, Maryland officials prepared for a rollback of the federal vaccine schedule with the passage of legislation to give Dr. Meena Seshamani, secretary of the state Health Department, the authority to issue official recommendations regarding screening, preventative services and immunizations to state residents based on clinical guidance from authoritative medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

The law, which also separates the state’s vaccine authority from that of the federal government, went into effect July 1. Seshamani has yet to change the state’s vaccine schedule.

“Vaccines remain one of the most powerful public health tools that we have to protect Marylanders and our communities against severe illness and preventable disease,” Seshamani said in a January statement when Gov. West Moore announced that his administration was bringing forth the bill. “Immunization is a core public health priority for Maryland, and we will continue to have Marylanders’ backs by providing them with guidance and recommendations grounded in rigorous, evidence-based science.”

Students begin returning to school in the coming weeks, beginning with Frederick County Public Schools on Wednesday.