Document Type

Student Paper

Publication Date

Spring 2026

Comments

Rates of childhood vaccination have been steadily declining for years, and the decline is only getting steeper. “During the 2024-25 school year, coverage for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP), polio, and varicella vaccines decreased among kindergartners,” with only 10 states meeting the threshold to prevent the transmission of viruses like measles. Getting vaccinated was once a routine task for most families, but now it can be seen as making a divisive political statement. The COVID-19 pandemic spread fear, misinformation, and distrust in science, fueling skepticism toward vaccines. Although the pandemic has ended, its effects persist. “Trust in U.S. public health declined from 72% to 40% between 2020 and 2024, coinciding with public health failure during the pandemic.” Across the country, many parents are declining vaccinations for their children for non-medical reasons. Parents refuse because they distrust the government, “Big Pharma,” or vaccines themselves. These refusals have contributed to the resurgence of previously eliminated communicable diseases, leaving K–12 children at a higher risk of preventable illness than at any point since before routine vaccination requirements.

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