Nearly 3,000 Oklahoma kindergartners had one or more exemptions for childhood vaccines during the past school year, according to the CDC.
Oklahoma’s vaccine exemption rates among kindergartners have risen from 4.7% in the 2022-2023 school year to 5.7% the following year. Nationwide, coverage for state-required vaccinations for kindergartners declined to less than 93% for all vaccines.
The CDC notes exemptions above 5% can increase the risk for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Required vaccines in Oklahoma schools combat diseases like chickenpox, measles, mumps and whooping cough. Parents or guardians can fill out a form to declare a medical, religious or philosophical reason for exempting their child from vaccines.
This new data comes as whooping cough cases have nearly quadrupled nationwide. Oklahoma is seeing those impacts, with 262 cases reported this year as of last week compared to eight in all of 2023.
Dr. Kelsey Damron, a pediatrician at a Mercy primary care clinic in Edmond, told StateImpact this uptick could be attributed to lacking vaccination rates.
“The diseases that vaccines protect against, we don't really see those anymore. And so, a lot of people think, ‘Well, this isn't out there anymore, so I don't need the vaccine.’” Damron said. “But, the vaccine is why it's not there anymore.”
The CDC said efforts by health departments, schools and providers are necessary to ensure higher vaccination rates.
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