This story is part of WTOP’s 2026 Back to School coverage.
Maryland’s State Superintendent of Schools Carey Wright says as this school year begins, a drop in kindergarten measles vaccination rates is raising red flags.
Nationally, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that during the 2025-2026 school year, vaccination coverage rates for MMR — measles, mumps and rubella — dropped to 92.4%. That’s down from 92.5% the previous year.
The same data showed that the number of children who were exempted from vaccinations climbed from 3.6% to 4.2%
“That is cause for concern because there are children that have died from having the measles,” Wright told reporters.
She said she was certain that school districts as well as the Maryland Department of Health would be tracking immunization rates as the school year starts.
In Maryland, state officials report the number of children getting immunized ahead of the start of school remains high.
According to Maryland Department of Health data, statewide vaccination rates for measles actually increased slightly from 96.4% in the 2024-2025 school year to 96.7% in the 2025-2026 school year.
But the rate of exemptions in the 2025-2026 school year increased, to 2.5% versus 2.2% in the previous year. The records also indicate that most exemptions were requested on religious grounds.
The Maryland data is based on the 65,469 kindergarten students enrolled in the 2025-2026 school year.
Currently, Maryland has confirmed 17 cases of measles. Nationwide, the number of measles cases has hit a 35-year-high with the CDC confirming 2,566 cases.
After the Trump administration issued an executive order Aug. 10 calling for a reduction in the number of vaccines from 18 to 11, Maryland’s Department of Health issued a statement saying the childhood immunization schedule required by the state would not change.
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