CDC: Kindergarten vaccine exemptions continue to climb, Ohio above average
November 17, 2023
The Centers for Disease Control said the rate of kindergarteners exempted from school vaccinations has hit the highest level ever at a national average of 3% in the 2022-2023 school year – up from 2.6% (Source: “CDC reports increase in kindergarten vaccine exemptions, Ohio is above the national average,” WOSU, Nov. 10).
Ohio’s exemption rate is just above the national average at 3.8%, which is up 0.8% from the 2021-2022 school year.
Ohio law allows students to be exempted from vaccines for medical reasons or “reasons of conscious,” which include religious reasons. The CDC estimates about 89% of Ohio's nearly 134,900 kindergarteners are fully vaccinated for diphtheria, tetanus, polio and measles, mumps and rubella. Some others are partially vaccinated or in a vaccination grace period. The national average for full vaccination is about 93% – slightly lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic, when the national vaccination rate was at 95% in the 2019-2020 school year.