U.S. School Vaccination Rates Fall As Exemptions Keep Rising
2 months, 2 weeks ago

U.S. School Vaccination Rates Fall As Exemptions Keep Rising

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING NEW YORK — U.S. kindergarten vaccination rates dipped last year and the proportion of children with exemptions rose to an all-time high, according to federal data posted Tuesday. The rates help explain a worrisome creep in cases of whooping cough, measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases, said Dr. Raynard Washington, chair of the Big Cities Health Coalition, which represents 35 large metropolitan public health departments. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show that coverage with MMR, DTaP, polio and chickenpox vaccines decreased in more than 30 states among kindergartners for the 2023-2024 school year, Washington noted. Mecklenburg also saw 19 whooping cough infections and three people with mumps earlier this year, said Washington, who noted the county usually sees none.

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History of this topic

'The country asked for measles?' GOP House whip struggles to defend Trump nominee
1 month, 1 week ago

'The country asked for measles?' GOP House whip struggles to defend Trump nominee

Raw Story  

House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer faced tough questions Friday on CNN about sick kids in his state that left him struggling to defend President-elect Donald Trump. CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked Emmer about Trump's selection of vaccine-denier Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services — and put it in the context of …

Florida's child vaccination rate plummets: "Kids aren't getting the protection they need"
3 months ago

Florida's child vaccination rate plummets: "Kids aren't getting the protection they need"

Salon  

Kids in Florida are getting vaccinated at extremely amidst years of anti-vaccine misinformation post-pandemic, exhausting pediatricians and healthcare providers in the state, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. Just 90.6% of Florida kindergarteners have been vaccinated for highly contagious diseases this school year, 5% below the baseline vaccination rate recommended by healthcare experts to prevent the spread of disease. It's the lowest …

This city is hailed as a vaccination success. Can it be sustained?
3 months, 1 week ago

This city is hailed as a vaccination success. Can it be sustained?

Associated Press  

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On his first day of school at Newcomer Academy, Maikel Tejeda was whisked to the school library. With U.S. childhood vaccination rates below their goals, Louisville and the state were being praised as success stories: Kentucky’s vaccination rate for kindergarteners rose 2 percentage points in the 2022-2023 school year compared with the year before. “We’re closing the …

Measles cases are up and childhood vaccinations are down : Consider This from NPR
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Measles cases are up and childhood vaccinations are down : Consider This from NPR

NPR  

Measles cases are up and childhood vaccinations are down Enlarge this image toggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Justin Sullivan/Getty Images For about three weeks in 2000, there were zero measles cases in the United States. Fast forward to 2024, and measles cases are surging, especially in Oregon where the state is facing the worst outbreak since the early 1990s. This …

Column: Opposing vaccine mandates, Trump exposes kids to disease
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Column: Opposing vaccine mandates, Trump exposes kids to disease

LA Times  

Presidential candidate Donald Trump, left, and vice presidential candidate J.D. Cloud, Minn.: “I will not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate.” If you want to experiment on somebody’s kids, Kamala Harris, AOC, and so forth, have your own kids, lay off of mine.This is about doing what you want to do …

Health officials push to get schoolchildren vaccinated as more U.S. parents opt out
1 year ago

Health officials push to get schoolchildren vaccinated as more U.S. parents opt out

LA Times  

Opponents protest a 2021 bill that repealed Connecticut’s religious exemption for required school vaccinations. “We tend to forget that diseases like measles and polio used to kill people,” said Jansen, medical director of the Southwest District Health Department, which handled the outbreak in September. In Idaho, “a parent only has to provide a signed statement,” to get a waiver, the …

Health officials push to get schoolchildren vaccinated as more US parents opt out
1 year ago

Health officials push to get schoolchildren vaccinated as more US parents opt out

Associated Press  

When Idaho had a rare measles outbreak a few months ago, health officials scrambled to keep it from spreading. “We tend to forget that diseases like measles and polio used to kill people,” said Jansen, medical director of the Southwest District Health Department, which handled the outbreak in September. In Idaho, “a parent only has to provide a signed statement,” …

US childhood vaccination exemptions reach their highest level ever
1 year, 1 month ago

US childhood vaccination exemptions reach their highest level ever

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — The proportion of U.S. kindergartners exempted from school vaccination requirements has hit its highest level ever, 3%, U.S. health officials said Thursday. Even though more kids were given exemptions, the national vaccination rate held steady: 93% of kindergartners got their required shots for the 2022-2023 school year, the same as the year before, the Centers for Disease …

2% of kids and 7% of adults have gotten the new COVID shots, US data show
1 year, 1 month ago

2% of kids and 7% of adults have gotten the new COVID shots, US data show

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — A month after federal officials recommended new versions of COVID-19 vaccines, 7% of U.S. adults and 2% of children have gotten a shot. One expert called the rates “abysmal.” The numbers, presented Thursday at a meeting held by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, come from a national survey of thousands of Americans, conducted two weeks …

Why millions of kids aren't getting their routine vaccinations
1 year, 8 months ago

Why millions of kids aren't getting their routine vaccinations

NPR  

Why millions of kids aren't getting their routine vaccinations Enlarge this image toggle caption Bachchan Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images Bachchan Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images A new report released by UNICEF finds that 67 million children across the world missed out on either some or all routine vaccinations between 2019 and 2021, and 48 million children didn't receive a …

Opinion: California gave up on mandating COVID vaccines for schoolchildren. Here’s why that’s wise
1 year, 9 months ago

Opinion: California gave up on mandating COVID vaccines for schoolchildren. Here’s why that’s wise

LA Times  

A California Supreme Court decision last week reaffirmed that individual school districts lack the authority to require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Unlike the other vaccines required for school enrollment in California, the COVID vaccines are unreliable at preventing infection or transmission, providing at best modest protection against infection for only a couple of months. We never had any …

Routine vaccine uptake among kindergarteners falls to 10-year low
1 year, 11 months ago

Routine vaccine uptake among kindergarteners falls to 10-year low

Daily Mail  

Vaccine uptake among kindergarteners has dropped to a 10-year low due to pandemic restrictions and a growing anti-vaxx movement sweeping the US. CDC data for the 2021-2022 school year shows a 10 year low of MMR vaccination rates among kindergarteners. Vaccination rate varies by state - with Alaska, Wisconsin, DC and Ohio revealed as those with the lowest percentage of …

US kindergarten vaccination rate dropped again, data shows
1 year, 11 months ago

US kindergarten vaccination rate dropped again, data shows

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — Vaccination rates for U.S. kindergarteners dropped again last year, and federal officials are starting a new campaign to try to bring them up. There’s so much work to be done,” said Dr. Jason Newland, a pediatric infectious diseases doctor at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and vice chair for community health at Washington University. Thursday’s CDC study was …

U.S. kindergarten vaccination rate drops again, data show
1 year, 11 months ago

U.S. kindergarten vaccination rate drops again, data show

LA Times  

Kindergarten students wait for their parents to pick them up at Maurice Sendak Elementary School during the height of the pandemic in April 2021 in Los Angeles. Vaccination rates for U.S. kindergartners dropped again last year, and federal officials are starting a new campaign to try to raise them. Thursday’s CDC study was based on public school kindergarten vaccination reports …

Editorial: A dangerous dip in confidence in vaccines puts kids at risk from preventable disease
1 year, 11 months ago

Editorial: A dangerous dip in confidence in vaccines puts kids at risk from preventable disease

LA Times  

We live in an age of advanced scientific knowledge that produces vaccines that can ward off diseases such as measles, rubella, mumps and polio. All states have laws requiring children to be vaccinated against certain diseases such as measles to attend public schools; however, medical exemptions are allowed in certain circumstances. So many kids are opting out of the measles …

States, not CDC, set school vaccination requirements
2 years, 2 months ago

States, not CDC, set school vaccination requirements

LA Times  

Paolo Canizales, 10, winces as he gets a shot of the Pfizer vaccine at Hellen Keller Elementary School in Lynwood. Another popular tweet similarly claimed the CDC committee’s vote would make the vaccination “mandatory for school registration.” But the public health agency doesn’t determine school vaccination requirements. “ACIP has no authority to make law.” CDC spokesperson Kate Grusich said in …

FDA authorizes 1st COVID-19 shots for infants, preschoolers
2 years, 6 months ago

FDA authorizes 1st COVID-19 shots for infants, preschoolers

Associated Press  

U.S. regulators on Friday authorized the first COVID-19 shots for infants and preschoolers, paving the way for vaccinations to begin next week. The FDA also authorized Moderna’s vaccines for school-aged children and teens; CDC’s review is next week. While young children generally don’t get as sick from COVID-19 as older kids and adults, their hospitalizations surged during the omicron wave …

‘Perfect storm’ of disease ahead with vaccines delayed and measles cases up, WHO and UNICEF say
2 years, 7 months ago

‘Perfect storm’ of disease ahead with vaccines delayed and measles cases up, WHO and UNICEF say

CNN  

CNN — The World Health Organization and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund warned of an increased risk of measles spread, with worldwide cases up nearly 80% so far in 2022 compared with 2021. “Pandemic-related disruptions, increasing inequalities in access to vaccines, and the diversion of resources from routine immunization are leaving too many children without protection against measles …

California delays coronavirus vaccine mandate for schools
2 years, 8 months ago

California delays coronavirus vaccine mandate for schools

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is sticking with its coronavirus vaccine mandate for schoolchildren, but it won’t happen until at least the summer of 2023, Gov. “So based on these two facts — we don’t have full FDA approval, and we recognize the implementation challenges that schools and school leaders would face — that we are not moving to have a …

California pauses plans to require COVID-19 vaccinations for schoolchildren
2 years, 8 months ago

California pauses plans to require COVID-19 vaccinations for schoolchildren

LA Times  

California will not require schoolchildren to be immunized for COVID-19 after Gov. Newsom’s office said that after the FDA approves the vaccine for children 12 and older, state public health officials will consider recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other groups “prior to implementing a school vaccine requirement.” Currently, …

Vaccine for kids under 5 is delayed after FDA review stalls
2 years, 10 months ago

Vaccine for kids under 5 is delayed after FDA review stalls

LA Times  

A COVID-19 vaccine for children under age 5 is unlikely to be cleared for use in the U.S. until the spring after federal regulators opted to postpone a review scheduled for next week to wait for more data. The government has secured sufficient supplies for all 18 million kids from six months through 4 years old, White House coronavirus response …

All California schoolchildren must be vaccinated against COVID-19 under new bill
2 years, 10 months ago

All California schoolchildren must be vaccinated against COVID-19 under new bill

LA Times  

California students would be required to be immunized for COVID-19 under a bill introduced Monday, offering backup to districts such as L.A. Unified that have struggled with their own mandates while igniting familiar backlash from anti-vaccine activists and parents who say the state should not make medical decisions for their children. Senate Bill 871, by state Sen. Richard Pan, would …

Why omicron stalled the effort to vaccinate young children
2 years, 11 months ago

Why omicron stalled the effort to vaccinate young children

Salon  

Two months after Pfizer's covid vaccine was authorized for children ages 5 to 11, just 27% have received at least one shot, according to Jan. 12 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "You have these large swaths of vulnerable children who are going to school," said Dr. Samir Shah, a director at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. …

Vaccination rates high for Queensland teachers as mandate deadline looms before classroom return
2 years, 11 months ago

Vaccination rates high for Queensland teachers as mandate deadline looms before classroom return

ABC  

Queensland's Department of Education has revealed state school teachers have rolled up their sleeves en masse for COVID-19 vaccinations. Key points: Ninety-eight per cent of state school staff respondents in Queensland will be double-vaccinated by the start of the school year The Queensland Teachers Union says teachers' commitment to follow health directives is good for the community at large Staff …

Kids’ low COVID-19 vaccination rates called a ‘gut punch’
2 years, 11 months ago

Kids’ low COVID-19 vaccination rates called a ‘gut punch’

Associated Press  

Distrust, misinformation and delays because of the holidays and bad weather have combined to produce what authorities say are alarmingly low COVID-19 vaccination rates in U.S. children ages 5 to 11. The low rates are “very disturbing,’’ said Dr. Robert Murphy, executive director for the Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. The low vaccination rates …

Children’s low COVID vaccination rates called a ‘gut punch’
2 years, 11 months ago

Children’s low COVID vaccination rates called a ‘gut punch’

LA Times  

Elsa Estrada, 6, smiles at her mother as pharmacist Sylvia Uong applies an alcohol swab to her arm before giving her the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination at a pediatric vaccine clinic in November at Willard Intermediate School in Santa Ana. The low rates are “very disturbing,” said Dr. Robert Murphy, executive director for the Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University’s …

Racial disparities in kids’ vaccinations are hard to track
3 years, 1 month ago

Racial disparities in kids’ vaccinations are hard to track

Associated Press  

The rollout of COVID-19 shots for elementary-age children has exposed another blind spot in the nation’s efforts to address pandemic inequalities: Health systems have released little data on the racial breakdown of youth vaccinations, and community leaders fear that Black and Latino kids are falling behind. I’m afraid they don’t know enough about it.” Leslie Torres-Rodriguez, the superintendent of Hartford …

COMIC: If history is a guide, schools will start requiring COVID vaccines
3 years, 1 month ago

COMIC: If history is a guide, schools will start requiring COVID vaccines

NPR  

COMIC: If history is a guide, schools will start requiring COVID vaccines Enlarge this image LA Johnson/NPR LA Johnson/NPR The first time kids had to get a vaccine to go to school was more than 200 years ago. For the past four decades, all 50 U.S. states have required that parents, if they want to enroll their children in any …

ACT records 51 new cases of COVID-19 as mandatory vaccination for early childhood workers, primary teachers introduced
3 years, 2 months ago

ACT records 51 new cases of COVID-19 as mandatory vaccination for early childhood workers, primary teachers introduced

ABC  

The ACT has recorded 51 new cases of COVID-19, as Canberrans count down the days until the end of lockdown. Vaccination mandated for early childhood workers, primary teachers The ACT government has announced that by November, vaccination will be mandated for staff working across certain early childhood settings and in primary schools. While testing will continue to be important, Chief …

NYC vaccine mandate takes effect with 96% of teachers receiving at least one dose, mayor says
3 years, 2 months ago

NYC vaccine mandate takes effect with 96% of teachers receiving at least one dose, mayor says

CNN  

CNN — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said 96% of all city public school teachers have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, as a vaccine mandate for educators went into full effect Monday morning. While de Blasio and Porter provided numbers for all school employees, the president of one of the city’s largest teachers’ unions …

California becomes first US state with Covid vaccine mandate for schools
3 years, 2 months ago

California becomes first US state with Covid vaccine mandate for schools

India TV News  

California became the first state in the US to announce plans to require student vaccination for Covid-19 by adding the vaccine to the list of vaccinations required for school, such as the vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella. According to an order approved by Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday, students in the Golden State would be required to be vaccinated …

California pushes 1st US vaccine mandate for schoolchildren
3 years, 2 months ago

California pushes 1st US vaccine mandate for schoolchildren

Associated Press  

SAN FRANCISCO — California is poised to impose the nation’s first coronavirus vaccine mandate for schoolchildren, a move announced Friday that could push other states to follow as many did after Gov. Newsom said the mandate won’t take effect for all children until the U.S. government has finished fully vetting the vaccine for two age groups — 12 to 15 …

Mandates are boosting vaccination rates, but not without a tradeoff
3 years, 2 months ago

Mandates are boosting vaccination rates, but not without a tradeoff

CNN  

CNN — Mandates that require employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19 have spurred workers to get vaccinated in recent weeks – yet some holdouts have been suspended or lost their jobs, and workplaces are scrambling to cover potential shortages. “This new information shows that holding firm on the vaccine mandate for health care workers is simply the right thing to …

Colorado Data Shows Vaccines And Masks Are Helping Protect Schoolchildren From COVID
3 years, 2 months ago

Colorado Data Shows Vaccines And Masks Are Helping Protect Schoolchildren From COVID

NPR  

Colorado Data Shows Vaccines And Masks Are Helping Protect Schoolchildren From COVID Colorado counties with high vaccination rates have much lower infection rates among children than those with low rates. LEILA FADEL, HOST: Health officials in Colorado say there's now clear evidence that vaccinations and masks help to protect kids from COVID-19. JOHN DALEY, BYLINE: The state Health Department compared …

More than half of Americans support vaccine mandates for workplaces, classrooms and sporting events
3 years, 3 months ago

More than half of Americans support vaccine mandates for workplaces, classrooms and sporting events

CNN  

CNN — Americans have grown more supportive of coronavirus vaccine mandates for workers, students, and in everyday public life, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. Democrats are 24 percentage points more likely than Republicans to say the pandemic isn’t over, 50 points likelier to say they always adhere to CDC guidance, and 46 points likelier to say …

Editorial: Now’s the time to mandate vaccination for public school students
3 years, 3 months ago

Editorial: Now’s the time to mandate vaccination for public school students

LA Times  

The teachers of Los Angeles-area schools were ordered in August to bare their arms for vaccinations against COVID-19, and now they’re wondering: What about the students? United Teachers Los Angeles is calling for the L.A. Unified School District to mandate vaccination for all eligible students, which for now would mean those 12 and older, unless there is a compelling medical …

When Can Kids Under 12 Get The COVID Vaccine? What Parents Should Know.
3 years, 3 months ago

When Can Kids Under 12 Get The COVID Vaccine? What Parents Should Know.

Huff Post  

PeopleImages via Getty Images Millions of children younger than 12, who aren't yet qualified for the COVID-19 vaccine, have returned to school. But Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, has said that there’s still a “reasonable chance” that kids younger than 12 will be eligible for a coronavirus vaccine before we head into 2022 — perhaps sometime …

Vaccination Rates Rose In August As COVID Cases Surged Due To The Delta Variant
3 years, 3 months ago

Vaccination Rates Rose In August As COVID Cases Surged Due To The Delta Variant

NPR  

Vaccination Rates Rose In August As COVID Cases Surged Due To The Delta Variant Enlarge this image toggle caption Mario Tama/Getty Images Mario Tama/Getty Images Vaccination rates were up in August as COVID-19 surges due to the delta variant led more people to seek the vaccine. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said …

Unvaccinated US teacher infects 26 people in California elementary school
3 years, 3 months ago

Unvaccinated US teacher infects 26 people in California elementary school

India Today  

An unvaccinated teacher in a California elementary school infected most of her students after contracting the Covid-19 Delta variant. “Evidence has repeatedly demonstrated that multi-layer prevention strategies such as vaccination for all children and adults who are eligible; masks for all students, teachers, staff, and visitors; ventilation; cohorting; physical distancing; and screening testing work to prevent the spread of Covid …

Vaccinating 12 - 15-year-olds could save up to 6,500 lives, doctors say
3 years, 3 months ago

Vaccinating 12 - 15-year-olds could save up to 6,500 lives, doctors say

Daily Mail  

UK vaccine watchdogs are under pressure to approve the roll-out of jabs for children as young as 12 as doctors say it could save thousands of lives by Christmas. It follows Health Secretary Sajid Javid’s instruction to the NHS last week to start preparing to jab 12- to 15-year-olds amid fears children starting back at school could trigger a new …

Illinois governor announces vaccine mandate for teachers and health care workers with testing opt-out
3 years, 3 months ago

Illinois governor announces vaccine mandate for teachers and health care workers with testing opt-out

CNN  

CNN — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday that all PreK-12 public school teachers and staff, all higher-education personnel and students, and health care workers in a variety of settings must be vaccinated against Covid-19 by September 5 or face regular testing requirements. Pritzker said the requirements are aimed at protecting the most vulnerable residents – children ineligible to be …

State education board clears way for school mask mandate
3 years, 3 months ago

State education board clears way for school mask mandate

Associated Press  

— The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education overwhelmingly approved a measure Tuesday that gives state Education Commissioner Jeff Riley the authority to issue a universal mask mandate for K-12 public schools. And after the challenges of last year, it will be incredibly important for this year to get off on a strong start.” He also said it is …

NYC mandates vaccinations for public school teachers, staff
3 years, 3 months ago

NYC mandates vaccinations for public school teachers, staff

India TV News  

All New York City public school teachers and other staffers will have to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, officials said Monday as the nation's largest school system prepares for classes to start next month. The new policy marks the first no-option vaccination mandate for a broad group of city workers in the nation's most populous city, though Mayor Bill de …

Students' lack of routine vaccines muddies start of school
3 years, 4 months ago

Students' lack of routine vaccines muddies start of school

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “It’s a big deal,” said Richard Long, executive director …

Mexico says 5.2 million dropped out of school in the pandemic
3 years, 4 months ago

Mexico says 5.2 million dropped out of school in the pandemic

Live Mint  

Mexico’s president is on a drive to convince people to send their kids back to school in September, and on Friday the government released some frightening figures on what the effects of the pandemic have been on schoolchildren. The Interior Department says a total of 5.2 million students under 18 did not register for classes last year, and that domestic …

Some states banning mask mandates also have fewest teens vaccinated
3 years, 4 months ago

Some states banning mask mandates also have fewest teens vaccinated

CNN  

CNN — As kids head back to school this month, vaccination rates among adolescents tend to be lower in states that have banned mask mandates in schools than in states that will require masks in schools, a new CNN analysis finds. As of Wednesday, the states that have vaccinated the most young people, according to the CDC’s data, are: Vermont: …

No need for kids to be vaccinated to attend school: WHO
3 years, 4 months ago

No need for kids to be vaccinated to attend school: WHO

India Today  

The World Health Organisation, during a briefing on Wednesday, said that kids do not need to be vaccinated to attend school. Emphasising the fact that schools should remain open, Dr Katherine O' Brien, a member of the WHO Covid-expert committee said: "There is no requirement for teenagers or kids to have to be vaccinated in order to attend school. On …

New data on kids and Covid made even a GOP governor flip on masks in schools
3 years, 4 months ago

New data on kids and Covid made even a GOP governor flip on masks in schools

CNN  

A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. Now, as the Delta variant tears through that state and others, the data shows it’s increasingly people who can’t get vaccinated – kids – that are also getting Covid-19. RELATED: Florida and Texas had one-third of all US Covid-19 cases in past week, official says Separately, a large portion …

Vaccine hesitancy in America fell by one-third during early months of 2021
3 years, 4 months ago

Vaccine hesitancy in America fell by one-third during early months of 2021

Daily Mail  

Vaccine hesitancy among American adults plummeted during the early months of 2021, new study suggests. Younger people are generally more vaccine hesitant than their older peers, except among Hispanic Americans over the age of 75 In January, nearly 60 percent of black Americans were hesitant to receive the vaccine, though that number was slashed in half down to 30 percent …

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