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Vaccine Exemption Rate for Kindergarteners Reaches Record High: CDC
Exemptions from routine vaccines among U.S. kindergartners increased to a record high 4.2% during the 2025-26 school year, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on Monday. This is up from 3.6% compared to the previous school year. During the 2020-21 school year, the exemption rate was 2.2%.
The majority of exemptions were for non-medical reasons, CDC data shows.
Amid a record-breaking year of measles cases, the percentage of kindergartners who received the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine inched down to 92.4%, below the 95% rate seen pre-pandemic and the threshold doctors say is needed to maintain herd immunity.
Rates for the varicella, or chickenpox, vaccine fell from 94% to 93.4% during the 2025-26 school year. However, rates for two doses inched up from 92.1% to 92.2%.
Although It’s Uncommon, Vaccinated People Can Spread Measles, Study Finds
In some cases, vaccinated people can transmit measles, finds a review and meta-analysis of 33 reports published late last week in Expert Review of Vaccines.
“Measles transmissions from vaccinated cases, although relatively uncommon, must be considered in public health investigations, as such transmissions can contribute to outbreaks,” wrote the authors, led by researchers at Public Health Ontario.
It’s estimated that measles vaccines have prevented about 94 million deaths from 1974 to 2024. Prior to the vaccine’s introduction, measles caused 2.6 million deaths every year worldwide.
The two-dose measles shot helped many countries eliminate the fast-spreading respiratory illness. But that trend has been shifting as vaccine hesitancy increases. This year, the United States has seen its most measles cases since 1991.
Merck Puts a Decade Timeline on the MMR Split Order as Single Disease Shots Remain Unlicensed
The two companies licensed to sell measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in the United States have now put a timeline on the executive order directing that the shot be split into three. Merck said obtaining FDA approval for single disease vaccines and then manufacturing and commercializing them could take years, “potentially as many as 10,” even under current expedited review pathways.
That statement, and a parallel one from GSK, changes what the order practically means for households. It is no longer a question of whether parents will be offered a choice at their next pediatric visit. It is a question of whether the products the order describes will exist during the childhood of any infant born this year.
For families booking appointments now, the answer at the counter is unchanged. Separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines are not licensed in the United States, and the combined shot remains the only option in supply.
Ebola Outbreak on Track to Be Deadliest Ever, WHO Chief Says
The current outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo is on track to surpass the deadliest outbreak of the disease ever, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters that the 2026 outbreak, “at its current pace”, would “eclipse” that of the 2014-2016 occurrence, which killed at least 11,000 people. The outbreak this year, declared on 15 May, has seen at least 4,300 cases and caused more than 2,000 deaths.
The WHO said on Wednesday it hoped to reverse the spread of the disease within three months but warned that this meant bringing transmission under control — not ending the outbreak entirely.
Nestle Looks to Develop New Products to Serve Users of Weight-Loss Drugs
Nestle is seeking to turn the rise of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs from a threat into a business opportunity, using artificial intelligence and nutritional science to develop products aimed at millions of consumers taking medicines such as Ozempic and Wegovy.
The rapid adoption of drugs made by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly has fuelled investor concerns that appetite-suppressing medicines could permanently reduce demand for packaged foods, snacks and beverages.
Trump Administration Puts ‘America First’ Twist on Drug Reviews
The Trump administration’s push to reshore drug development is becoming part of efforts to renew the user fee system that pays for review of new medicines.
Why it matters: “America First” incentives the administration is proposing would add a political twist to what’s been a bipartisan process, but could gain favor as policymakers look for ways to reduce dependence on China.
Driving the news: The administration wants to cut Food and Drug Administration new drug application fees in half for companies that include data from at least one early-stage clinical trial anchored in the United States after Oct. 1, 2027. It also would offer a 50% reduction for applications to expand the use of an “orphan drug” for a rare condition to a second disease. And it would restrict eligibility for waivers exempting small businesses from application fees so that they only go to U.S. companies.
