Canadian wildfire smoke covers Minnesota, alert issued until noon Wednesday

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Vaccination rates for school-aged children have declined in Minnesota and across the nation as more families seek to exempt their kids from required vaccinations. Medical professionals say those exemption counts are near the point where Minnesotans should be extremely concerned, especially when it comes to schools.

, a highly contagious disease also known as whooping cough, hit an eight-year high. The Twin Cities last year also saw a 

 as the immunization rate for the MMR — measles, mumps and rubella — vaccine continues to drop.

Without a critical mass of immunized kids, children at schools and child care operations can be more vulnerable from diseases, including measles and chickenpox, that are preventable.

Over the last decade, medical exemptions for required vaccinations have stayed relatively the same. These are exemptions that have been confirmed by a doctor.

Nonmedical exemptions — which anyone can seek on religious, moral, ethical or philosophical grounds — have been on a steady increase with a noticeable spike in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Overall, these exemptions have gone up a few percentage points with the MMR vaccines seeing the most exemptions.

Why are there more nonmedical exemptions?

When it comes to nonmedical exemptions, there are people who like to make their own decisions and people who are afraid of vaccines, said Dr. Jill Foster, professor of pediatrics at University of Minnesota Medical School.

That second group, she said, may have many reasons for their fears, including fear of needles, safety concerns or a belief in misinformation they’ve seen online. Whatever the reason, it can be problematic, she added.

“It really is a slippery slope, once you start going to exemptions that aren’t fact based and not evidence based,” Foster said. “And that’s kind of what's happened. People either just say, ‘Well, I personally don’t believe in vaccines,’ or they say, ‘I have a religious reason to not have vaccines,’ which there are no organized religions that actually are against vaccines.”

Exemption laws can vary from state to state. Forty-seven allow religious exemptions and 18 allow philosophical exemptions. Minnesota allows both. These exemptions also do not need to be renewed unless a school district requires a new vaccine.

The Minnesota Department of Health collects information exemptions and shares this data with school districts, so schools can better know how protected their students are from vaccine preventable diseases. The exemptions themselves are handled at the district level. MDH said districts approve the vast majority of exemptions.

Right now, exemptions are around the 3 percent mark and around 90 percent of school aged children are vaccinated. Experts, though, say the current situation is still concerning.

“It is very worrisome, because a choice not to vaccinate is not a risk free choice,” said Tabitha Hanson, a registered nurse and consultant with the state Health Department. “So a parent might think that if they don’t vaccinate, they’re eliminating risk by not getting the vaccination. However, by not vaccinating, that’s a choice to take a different and more serious risk, and we’re seeing the results of that risk when we have outbreaks of disease.”

Hanson said it’s not always because of vaccine skepticism that people file nonmedical exemptions for. It can also be a lack of access to vaccines and a lack of convenience in scheduling appointments.

According to Hanson and other experts, building trust with medical providers is the most helpful in making families feel better about immunizations. It’s important for parents to feel safe asking questions to their medical provider without feeling judgment so they can make informed choices.

Kyra Miles

Author

Nonmedical exemptions for required childhood vaccinations have risen steadily since 2020. Medical professionals say exemption counts are near the point where Minnesotans should be extremely concerned, especially when it comes to schools.

More Minnesota kids get exempted from required vaccinations. Here’s what’s happening

Go Deeper.

Like this?