{
  "id": 1575928,
  "title": "US vaccination rates fall again as exemptions continue to rise, CDC data shows",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/us-vaccination-rates-fall-again-as-exemptions-continue-to-rise-cdc",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-17T22:08:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Ars Technica Health",
    "slug": "ars-technica-health",
    "url": "https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/08/us-vaccination-rates-fall-again-as-exemptions-continue-to-rise-cdc-data-shows/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released data indicating that US vaccination rates for kindergarteners have declined again in the 2025-2026 school year. According to the CDC, only 92.4% of kindergartners were vaccinated with the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, a slight decrease from the previous year's rate of 92.5%. Additionally, the coverage with the DTaP vaccine, which protects against diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (whooping cough), fell from 92.1% to 92.0%. These decreasing rates continue a downward trend that began in the 2019-2020 school year, when the US achieved 95% vaccination rates, the threshold necessary to prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in communities.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Ars Technica",
        "title": "US vaccination rates fall again as exemptions continue to rise, CDC data shows",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/us-vaccination-rates-fall-again-as-exemptions-continue-to-rise-cdc-1578656",
        "published": "2026-08-17T22:08:47.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}