Kindergarten vaccine exemptions hit record high as Trump’s order squeezes school mandates CNN | August 21, 2026

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/08/21/kindergarten-vaccine-exemptions-hit-record-high-as-trumps-order-squeezes-school-mandates/ American kindergartners are skipping their shots at a record pace, CNN reporter Deidre McPhillips found, and the White House just turned up the pressure. New CDC data show 4.2% of kindergartners claimed a vaccine exemption last school year, leaving roughly 157,000 kids without full coverage against measles and other diseases. That rate has doubled in a decade.