Latest news with #herdimmunity
Washington Post
5 days ago
- Health
- Washington Post
The worst way to achieve herd immunity is demonizing anti-vaxxers
Monica Hesse described in her July 15 op-ed, 'There's no vaccine for this,' her dismay at the state of U.S. measles vaccination rates. She fears that the loss of herd immunity will harm those who aren't able to be vaccinated, but wrote that 'what makes me worry most is that the people causing the collapse in herd immunity do not seem to understand that.' That framing reveals an unfortunately common lack of understanding of those 'causing the collapse.'
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Childhood vaccination rates fall for 5th straight year, CDC data shows
Childhood vaccination rates for the 2024-25 school year fell for the fifth year in a row, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published Thursday. Vaccine coverage for shots that protect against measles, polio, chickenpox, whooping cough and hepatitis B have now been under 95% -- a threshold many experts consider herd immunity -- since at least the 2020-2021 school year. Exemptions for vaccines also hit a record high, increasing to 3.6% for the 2024-25 school year compared to 3.3% during the previous school year. The number of kindergarteners exempt from one or more vaccines was about 138,000. MORE: Members of CDC vaccine panel ousted by RFK Jr. say committee has 'lost credibility' "That gap, combined with concentrated pockets of exemptions, is exactly how sustained outbreaks gain a foothold," said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and ABC News medical contributor. "Kindergarten vaccination rates are an early warning indicator. Persistent declines predict conditions for more frequent and larger outbreaks are already in place." Exemptions increased in 36 states, with 17 states reporting exemption rates exceeding 5%, according to the CDC data. Nearly all the exemptions were listed as non-medical, typically related to religious or personal reasons. "The surge in non-medical exemptions reflects a growing influence of misinformation and shifting policy. When these beliefs concentrate geographically, they erode the very network of immunity that protects all children," Brownstein said. An estimated 92.5% of kindergarteners were vaccinated with the polio vaccine as well as the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, leaving an estimated 286,000 vulnerable to the diseases. It comes as the U.S. is seeing the highest number of measles cases since 1992, with dozens of outbreaks reported across the country, CDC data shows. About 94% of kindergartners were vaccinated against hepatitis B. Even fewer children were vaccinated against chickenpox and whooping cough with rates at 92.1%, according to the data. MORE: Medical groups sue HHS, RFK Jr. over 'unlawful' vaccine changes Last year saw a record level of whooping cough cases, with more than 35,000 cases reported -- roughly six times as many cases compared to 2023. Federal health officials in the Trump administration have also recently shifted messaging around vaccination, now pushing for personal choice -- advocating that parents should decide whether or not to immunize their kids. "Public health messaging has shifted in ways that place personal choice ahead of community protection. When federal leadership softens its stance on vaccination, it can accelerate hesitancy and legitimize non medical exemptions, further weakening population level immunity," Brownstein said. "As pediatricians, we know that immunizing children helps them stay healthy, and when everyone can be immunized, it's harder for diseases to spread in our communities," Dr. Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a statement. "By making sure all children can access immunizations before entering school with their classmates, children are best able to stay healthy to play, learn, and grow."
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Kindergarten vaccination rates fall as exemptions rise
United States kindergarten vaccination rates decreased last year while exemptions rose to an all-time high, according to new federal data. The data, posted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website Thursday, showed vaccination coverage among kindergartners during the 2024 to 2025 school year decreased for all reported vaccines from the year before. According to the data, about 92.1% kindergartners got the diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP), and 92.5% received the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) and polio vaccine — all down slightly from the previous school year. These decreases come as the U.S. has recorded the most measles cases in more than 30 years. A large share of the infections were connected to a West Texas outbreak primarily affecting children and teenagers, nearly all of whom were unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status. Experts say outbreaks like these are more likely when vaccination rates drop — and rates have already fallen below the 95% needed for herd immunity. Exemptions among U.S. kindergartners also rose to an all-time high during the 2024 to 2025 school year, the data showed, increasing to 3.6% from 3.3% the year before. Exemptions increased in 36 states and Washington, D.C., with 17 states reporting exemptions exceeding 5%, the CDC added. Speaking on "CBS Mornings" earlier this year about the measles outbreak, Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, expressed worry over exemption increases across the country. "We're really seeing a lot of exemptions [and] concerns about vaccination that are not warranted," she said, adding, for most people, the MMR vaccine will protect you for life against measles, one of the most contagious infectious diseases. Doctors and public health officials say the vaccine, which has been used for decades, is safe and highly effective. Arkansas officials reveal new details about Devil's Den murders of husband and wife New shocking jobs report as Trump's tariffs roll out Autistic researcher finds new path as DEI programs face cuts Solve the daily Crossword
CBS News
01-08-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Vaccination rates among kindergarteners fall as exemptions rise to all-time high
United States kindergarten vaccination rates decreased last year while exemptions rose to an all-time high, according to new federal data. The data, posted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website Thursday, showed vaccination coverage among kindergartners during the 2024 to 2025 school year decreased for all reported vaccines from the year before. According to the data, about 92.1% kindergartners got the diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP), and 92.5% received the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) and polio vaccine — all down slightly from the previous school year. These decreases come as the U.S. has recorded the most measles cases in more than 30 years. A large share of the infections were connected to a West Texas outbreak primarily affecting children and teenagers, nearly all of whom were unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status. Experts say outbreaks like these are more likely when vaccination rates drop — and rates have already fallen below the 95% needed for herd immunity. Exemptions among U.S. kindergartners also rose to an all-time high during the 2024 to 2025 school year, the data showed, increasing to 3.6% from 3.3% the year before. Exemptions increased in 36 states and Washington, D.C., with 17 states reporting exemptions exceeding 5%, the CDC added. Speaking on "CBS Mornings" earlier this year about the measles outbreak, Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, expressed worry over exemption increases across the country. "We're really seeing a lot of exemptions [and] concerns about vaccination that are not warranted," she said, adding, for most people, the MMR vaccine will protect you for life against measles, one of the most contagious infectious diseases. Doctors and public health officials say the vaccine, which has been used for decades, is safe and highly effective.
Sky News
31-07-2025
- Health
- Sky News
Renae died from a rare brain disease after getting measles as a baby. Now, her mother wants more children to get vaccines
The mother of a 10-year-old girl who died from complications of measles has urged parents to have their children vaccinated amid a surge of cases. Renae Archer was too young to have the MMR vaccine when she caught the infection at just five months old. A decade later, she was diagnosed with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a very rare brain disease. She died in 2023. Her mother Becky believes Renae might not have caught measles if more people had inoculated their children. The warning comes as rates of vaccine uptake continue to fall. The recent death of a child with measles at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool put the focus on a surge of cases in a city with low levels of vaccination. It has left communities with rates of vaccination below the 95% level seen to provide herd immunity, where enough people are protected to prevent the virus spreading. Becky Archer said: "It does make me quite sad and angry because they are potentially putting their children at risk. "We just want people to open their eyes to someone that's actually been through it and not the nonsense that's being spread out on social media or on telly. "I just want people to be knowledgeable of how serious a situation can be." The latest figures on childhood vaccination show that coverage in the UK has been falling in recent years and is now below that target of 95% for all vaccines by age five. The vaccination rate for England is lower than in other UK nations, and particularly low in London. Just 60% in Hackney have had their full measles vaccination course by their fifth birthday, compared to 89.2% on average across Scotland - though the rate in Scotland has also fallen from 93% a decade earlier. Outside of London, the North West now has among the lowest vaccination rates for most of the main childhood vaccines. Liverpool has the lowest measles vaccination rate outside of London, with more than a quarter of children not completing a full MMR vaccination course by their fifth birthday, according to the latest NHS figures for 2023/24. Seventeen cases of measles have been recorded at Alder Hey in recent weeks, and doctors are reassuring parents that the vaccine is safe, free and available. The hospital's chief nurse Nathan Askew said: "Measles is often thought of as just a routine childhood illness but actually it's incredibly contagious. "The problem is that when that's passed on, particularly in schools, nurseries and other environments where children are close together, there's a real problem with children becoming unwell." Low immunisation rates have been blamed on vaccine hesitancy among parents, but experts say a lack of information on the importance and availability of vaccines is also a significant factor. At a catch-up clinic in Liverpool, parents including Natalia Figeuroa have been bringing their children in. She admits she lost track of her son's vaccinations, but worries that parents are being confused. "I think parents are trying to make the right decision but the misinformation that's out there is overclouding their judgement," she said. "My child attends a specialist provision which is a school that carries many children with disabilities, physically and mentally, and it's really hard to see that those kids could be exposed to an illness that is quite preventable with a vaccine. "I'm hoping parents will start to think not only about their own children but those other children who cannot get vaccinations for numerous reasons." Becky Archer was due to give birth the day she was told that Renae's condition was fatal. She died a few days later, and her mother believes she would want her story told. "She was really caring person and she wouldn't have wanted any other family to go through losing their child," she said.
