How Shifting Vaccine Policy Could Affect RI School-Age Children

The new school year could bring changes in how Rhode Island’s school-aged kids are protected against viruses due to shifts in federal health policy and overall attitudes about vaccine safety, public health experts warn.

Amplifying their concerns is Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s complete overhaul of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, which makes recommendations on what vaccinations children should get.

These recommendations form the basis of Rhode Island law, which currently provides that incoming kindergarteners get:

• 5 doses of DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) vaccine
• 3 doses of Hepatitis B vaccine
• 2 doses of MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine
• 4 doses of Polio vaccine
• 2 doses of Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine

All U.S. states and territories require that children attending child care centers and schools be vaccinated against a number of diseases, including, measles, mumps, polio, tetanus, whooping cough, and chickenpox.

Rates can be influenced by policies that make it harder or easier to obtain exemptions, and by local attitudes among families and doctors about the need to get children vaccinated. Online misinformation and the political divide that emerged around COVID-19 vaccines have led more parents to question routine childhood vaccinations, experts say.

Rhode Island Vaccination Rates Down

U.S. kindergarten vaccination rates inched down again last year, and the share of children with exemptions rose to an all-time high, according to federal data posted Thursday. Public health officials focus on vaccination rates for kindergartners because schools can be cauldrons for germs and launching pads for community outbreaks.

In Rhode Island, 96.7% of kindergarteners were current on their vaccinations at the start of school last year, compared to 97% the year before, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Vaccine Exemptions In Rhode Island

All states allow exemptions for children with medical conditions that prevent them from receiving certain vaccines. And most also permit exemptions for religious or other nonmedical reasons. In the last decade, the percentage of kindergartners with medical exemptions has held steady, at about 0.2 percent. But the percentage with nonmedical exemptions has risen.

Overall, the fraction of kids exempted from vaccine requirements rose to 3.6%, up from 3.3% the year before. It’s the third record-breaking year in a row for the national average exemption rate, and the vast majority are parents withholding shots for nonmedical reasons.

The highest exemption rate was in Idaho, where 15.4% of kindergarteners had at least one exemption. The lowest was in Connecticut, where fewer than 0.5% of students had a vaccine exemption.

In Rhode Island, 3.6% had an exemption.

Measles Vaccinations In Rhode Island

The vaccination numbers were posted as the U.S. experiences its worst year for measles spread in more than three decades, with more than 1,300 cases so far.

The CDC said 92.5% of 2024–25 kindergartners got their required measles-mumps-rubella shots, down slightly from the previous year. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the vaccination rate was 95% — the level that makes it unlikely that a single infection will spark a disease cluster or outbreak.

In Rhode Island, 96.7% of kindergarteners last year got their MMR shots, compared to 97.1% the year before.

Vaccination A ‘Personal Decision’

The CDC traditionally releases the vaccination coverage data in its flagship publication, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. CDC officials usually speak to the trends and possible explanations, and stress the importance of vaccinations. This year, the agency quietly posted the data online and — when asked about it — emailed a statement to The Associated Press.

“The decision to vaccinate is a personal one. Parents should consult their health care providers on options for their families,” the statement said, adding; “Vaccination remains the most effective way to protect children from serious diseases like measles and whooping cough, which can lead to hospitalization and long-term health complications.”

See Also: New COVID Variant 'Stratus' Has This Distinctive Symptom: See Latest RI Data

The wording is more ambivalent about the importance of vaccinations than in the past. That is in keeping with communications from Kennedy, a leading voice in the anti-vaccine movement before President Donald Trump put him in charge of federal health agencies.

Dr. Sean O’Leary, of the American Academy of Pediatrics, noted the changes in the CDC messaging, which places personal choice before community protection.

“To sort of weaken the language or weaken the messaging that they're sending is very concerning, because what they say does matter,” O’Leary, a University of Colorado pediatric infectious diseases specialist, told The Associated Press.

“The concern, of course, is that with a further dip in the (vaccination) coverage, we’re going to see even more measles in the coming months,” O’Leary said.

It’s good news that the vast majority of parents continue to get their kids vaccinated, O’Leary said. And it’s noteworthy that there is a gap between the percentage vaccinated and the percentage who are exempted — meaning there likely are unmet access issues, he added.

See Also: Rhode Island's 2nd West Nile Sample of 2025 Spotted In Bristol: State

The Associated Press contributed reporting.