US Edition
Record number of Oregon kindergartners lack vaccinations due to nonmedical exemptions
- The Oregon Health Authority reported on May 15, 2025 that 9.7% of Oregon kindergartners have nonmedical vaccine exemptions, a state record.
- This increase results from four consecutive years of rising exemption requests amid growing vaccine skepticism following the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Counties vary widely, with Wheeler County leading at 38.5%, while others like Jefferson show much lower exemption rates, impacting community immunity statewide.
- Dr. Paul Cieslak warned that a rise in nonmedical exemptions reduces herd immunity, increasing the risk of outbreaks of severe illnesses like measles.
- Officials warn this rising exemption trend threatens decades of public health progress and increases the risk of disease outbreaks in Oregon schools.
19 Articles
19 Articles
Record-high Vaccine Exemptions for Kindergartners
A record 9.7% of kindergartners claimed nonmedical exemptions from Oregon’s school vaccination requirements for the 2024-2025 school year, the highest rate ever recorded in the state, Oregon Health Authority announced today. The increase continues an upward trend from 8.8% in 2024, when Oregon had the fourth-highest nonmedical exemption rate in the United States, behind Idaho, Alaska and Utah, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Pre…
Record number of Oregon kindergartners exempt from school-required vaccinations
Nearly 10% of Oregon kindergartners have a non-medical exemption to some or all of the vaccines that are required to attend school. That’s according to numbers released Thursday by the Oregon Health Authority.The number of parents requesting non-medical exemptions to vaccines has been steadily increasing in Oregon. The OHA said those numbers, the highest exemption rate the state’s ever recorded, increase the chance for an outbreak of highly cont…
More Oregon parents are asking for vaccine exemptions for their kids, data show • Oregon Capital Chronicle
The Oregon Health Authority announced on Thursday that vaccine rates among kindergarteners has consecutively declined for the last three years. Data from the Oregon Immunization Program show 86.3% of Oregon kindergarteners were fully vaccinated with all required vaccines for this school year, a slight decrease from 86.4% last year. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)Nearly one in 10 Oregon kindergartners aren’t fully vaccinated because the…
Vaccination avoidance rises in Oregon - The New Era
Nonmedical exemptions for kindergartners rose to 9.7% for the 2024–25 school year. BY NIGEL JAQUISS Oregon Journalism Project The percentage of Oregon kindergartners whose families opted them out of vaccinations for nonmedical reasons jumped to 9.7% for the 2024–25 school year. That percentage is the highest in state history, according to the Oregon Health Authority, and marks the fourth consecutive annual increase. Like other states, Oregon …
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