Vaccination rates for Wisconsin kindergartners remained mostly flat during the 2025-2026 school year from the prior year, new data show, leaving the state at the bottom of the pack nationally as the worst measles numbers the country has seen in decades persist.
The data was released Aug. 17 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the CDC data from the 2025-2026 school year:
A spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said declining vaccination rates and the growing number of exemptions leave schools and communities more vulnerable to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
“We know that public health, health care, and other community partners are working hard to improve vaccination rates in Wisconsin and there is still more work to be done to get vaccination rates to the levels needed to prevent outbreaks from happening,” the spokesperson said.
The data was released as Wisconsin’s measles cases are climbing from an outbreak that began in early August in Iowa County. Data provided by the state health department from the Wisconsin Immunization Registry, which also encompasses children who are homeschooled, show that 75.3% of Wisconsin 6-year-olds received the required doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in 2025. That has fallen from over 81% in 2019.
Two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are 97% effective at preventing infection. More than 803 million doses have been distributed around the world since it was first approved for use.
CDC data show that only Idaho had a smaller percentage of kindergartners who met the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination requirement last school year than Wisconsin.
Across the U.S., vaccination coverage declined and the percentage of children exempted from one or more vaccine required for school reached a new high.
Federal and state health officials have clashed as the Trump administration has sought to drastically pare back the country’s childhood vaccine schedule. Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary Kirsten Johnson said in a statement last week that the agency is “deeply concerned about the lack of scientific evidence in statements from top health officials, and potential implications for the health of children in our state.”
In Wisconsin, more than 8% of kindergartners had a vaccine exemption during the most recent school year, the large majority for non-medical reasons.
Wisconsin’s law permits exemptions for medical reasons, religious reasons and what is described as reasons of “personal conviction.” During the 2025-2026 school year, the state reported 6.5% of K-12 students with a personal conviction waiver, a record high.
Still, more than 87% of K-12 students met minimum immunization requirements that year, the state reported.
Madeline Heim covers health and the environment for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at 920-996-7266 or mheim@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin kindergarten vaccine rates remain low as measles cases climb
Reporting by Madeline Heim, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Madeline Heim, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
