Kids vaccine exemptions hit record high: CDC data

Well, fewer kids are getting their shots ahead of the new school year. Exemption rates continue to cry rise that is across the country in Arizona has among the highest in the entire country. Our state currently ranks fifth in the country for the percentage of kindergartners without vaccine exemptions. About 9.1% of Arizona kindergartners have an exemption for at least one required shot. That is more than double the national average of 3.6%. Doctors say that is a problem. Fox's Alex Hogan has more from Washington. The battle over vaccines is heating up once again, just a week after President Trump signed an executive order changing the childhood vaccination schedule. New CDC data shows vaccine exemptions among kindergartners hit a record high of 4.2% last year. The majority of those exemptions were for non medical reasons, and some doctors are blaming HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. Who's been called a vaccine skeptic. This is R. F. K. Junior's goal, which is to induce chaos and confusion into the system. So people aren't sure what they're supposed to do. Medical groups point to resurgent diseases like measles, with only 92% of kids getting the MMR shot last year below the 95% threshold needed to maintain herd immunity. We don't really have herd immunity for anything anymore, and so you've got to build the immunity in your own little personal herd. That's your family. But HHS is pushing back on that criticism, claiming obesity is a much bigger issue and fighting ultra processed foods is the top priority for now. Zero Americans this year have died of measles. So this U. P. F. Consumption, which has gone from 0 to 60% in just two generations, is the biggest health crisis. And with students heading back to the classrooms for the new school year, doctors say if you have questions about vaccines, just ask. I wouldn't tell you to do something for your child that I haven't already done for myself or for my own child. Idaho had the highest exemption rate. Nearly one out of every five kindergartners there were not vaccinated.