US vaccination rates for measles, other diseases drop further, government data says
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the new figures at a time when the country faces a growing measles outbreak, with confirmed cases this month reaching the highest level since the disease was declared eliminated from the country in 2000.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long questioned the safety of vaccines, contrary to scientific evidence, and he has also suggested a link between vaccines and autism.
The CDC data show vaccination rates have steadily trended down since the COVID-19 pandemic. For the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, coverage went from 95.2% in the 2019-2020 school year to 92.7% last year, before landing at 92.5% in 2024-2025. In Texas, the epicenter of the recent outbreak, MMR coverage has fallen to 93.2% from 96.9% in 2019.
Most people are protected from measles through herd immunity when more than 95% of people in the community are vaccinated, the CDC website says.
An HHS spokesperson said the data released on Thursday showed a 'majority' of children continue to get routine childhood immunizations, and that vaccination remains the most effective way to protect children from measles and whooping cough.
'The decision to vaccinate is a personal one,' the spokesperson said. 'Parents should consult their healthcare providers on options for their families.'
In addition, exemptions from one or more vaccines increased to 3.6% in 2024-2025 from 3.3% the year before, the CDC website said. Exemptions, which can be granted on medical or religious grounds, increased in 36 states and DC, with 17 states reporting exemptions exceeding 5 percent, it said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
28 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Sales of Novo Nordisk's diabetes drugs including Ozempic slow sharply
Sales of Novo Nordisk's injectable diabetes drugs including Ozempic have slowed sharply amid fierce competition and the threat of US tariffs, prompting it to cut costs and sharpen its commercial focus. The Danish drugmaker, whose booming sales of GLP-1 diabetes and obesity drugs in recent years had turned it into Europe's most valuable company, has lost nearly $100bn (£75bn) in market value since cutting its full-year sales forecast last week, when its share price slid 30% in its worst week in more than two decades. It fell a further 3% on Wednesday. On Wednesday, Novo Nordisk said sales of medications such as Ozempic – which mimic the GLP-1 gut hormone that regulates blood sugar levels and appetite – grew by 8% in the first half of the year, down from 21% last year. Sales of obesity drugs including Wegovy increased by 56%, taking total sales 16% higher to 155bn Danish kroner (£18bn). Profit before tax climbed by 24% to 70.8bn kroner. The company has lost market share to its US rival Eli Lilly's Mounjaro, which studies have shown to be more effective, as well as cheaper versions made by generic drugmakers. It has also been hit by 'compounding' in the US, where pharmacies make up medications from ingredients, even though the US regulator declared an end to the practice recently. Novo Nordisk's outgoing chief executive, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, said that the copycat market had 'equal size to our business' and that compounded versions of Wegovy were sold at a 'much lower price point'. Its finance chief, Karsten Munk Knudsen, said the company was pursuing various strategies, including lawsuits against compounding pharmacies and expanding its US direct-to-consumer platform, NovoCare, launched in March. The company might also pursue 'cash sales' directly to patients elsewhere. Jørgensen said Novo Nordisk was taking measures to 'sharpen our commercial execution further, and ensure efficiencies in our cost base while continuing to invest in future growth'. He said it would probably not be able to avoid layoffs, but that no decision had been made. He said it would be up to Maziar Mike Doustdar, who takes over as CEO on Thursday, to make such a decision. The company is now expecting sales growth of between 8% and 14% at constant exchange rates in 2025, down sharply from its previous estimate of 13% to 21%. Novo Nordisk also disclosed that it had ditched several weight-loss drugs in development, including one that has just completed an intermediate (phase II) clinical study, 'due to portfolio considerations'. The company faces a class action lawsuit in the US from investors, who claim that it misled them with optimistic growth forecasts in the lucrative weight loss market. The UBS analyst Matthew Weston said: 'We expect GLP-1 compounders to remain in the US, which limits cash-pay uptake and leaves an uncertain outlook for US Wegovy. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion 'President Trump's proposal to reimburse GLP-1 obesity in Medicare could add significant volume uplift, but most-favoured-nation demands to offer US cash sales at European prices could significantly reduce value.' Derren Nathan, the head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'Tariffs and drug pricing policy are another threat Mike Doustdar will need to tackle head-on if one of Denmark's greatest success stories is to regain its crown as Europe's most valuable company. 'The 15% blanket rate on EU imports is not necessarily the end of the story as Donald Trump dangles the prospect of levies of up to 250% on pharmaceutical imports under a separate section 232 investigation.'
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Could RFK Jr's move to pull mRNA vaccine funding be a huge miscalculation?
mRNA vaccines were heralded as a medical marvel that saved lives during the Covid pandemic, but now the US is pulling back from researching them. US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has cancelled 22 projects - worth $500m (£376m) in funding – for tackling infections such as Covid and flu. So does Kennedy - probably the country's most famous vaccine sceptic – have a point, or is he making a monumental miscalculation? Prof Adam Finn, vaccine researcher at the University of Bristol, says "it's a bit of both" but ditching mRNA technology is "stupid" and potentially a "catastrophic error". Let's unpick why. Kennedy says he has reviewed the science on mRNA vaccines, concluding that the "data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu". Instead, he says, he would shift funding to "safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate". So are mRNA vaccines safe? Are they effective? Would other vaccine technologies be better? And another question is where should mRNA vaccines fit into the pantheon of other vaccine technologies - because there are many: Inactivated vaccines use the original virus or bacterium, kill it, and use that to train the immune system - such as the annual flu shot Attenuated vaccines do not kill the infectious agent, but make it weaker so it causes a mild infection - such as the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine Conjugate vaccines use bits of protein or sugar from a bug, so it triggers an immune response without causing an infection - like for types of meningitis mRNA vaccines use a fragment of genetic code that temporarily instructs the body to make parts of a virus, and the immune system reacts to that Each has advantages and disadvantages, but Prof Finn argues we "overhyped" mRNA vaccines during the pandemic to the exclusion of other approaches, and now there is a process of adjusting. "But to swing the pendulum so far that mRNA is useless and has no value and should not be developed or understood better is equally stupid, it did do remarkable things," he says.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Warning issued as man dies after taking ‘addictive' supplement
A Washington family is raising awareness about the dangers of kratom after their son, Jordan McKibban, died in 2022 from using the supplement. McKibban's autopsy revealed his death was caused by mitragynine, a compound found in kratom, which he had mixed with lemonade. Kratom, an "all-natural" supplement derived from a Southeast Asian plant, is legally available but the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has labelled it a "drug of concern" due to unproven safety and efficacy. Concerns are growing over 7-hydroxymitragynine, a more potent kratom offshoot, which the FDA has recommended classifying as an illicit substance due to its opioid-like effects. US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr has announced plans to crack down on kratom, particularly the more addictive offshoot, while Dr Robert Levy warned consumers that "all-natural" does not equate to safety.
