THE OTHER SIDE: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. v. Peter Hotez

Complete Vaccination Coverage Down In Kindergartners For 2023–24 School Year

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CDC: Wisconsin Children Fall Behind Other States In Vaccination Rates

MADISON (WKOW) -- The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announced children in Wisconsin are behind children in other states when it comes to vaccination rates. 

DHS shared vaccine data with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who compared that to other states across the country. The CDC reported 84.8% of Wisconsin kindergarteners were up-to-date on their measles, mumps and reubella (MMR) vaccine, while 92.7% of children nationwide have received their MMR vaccine. 

The CDC noted Wisconsin children were also behind national vaccination rates for polio, pertussis and diptheria and tetanus (DTaP).

"There's no shortage of vaccines, but we know families can be short on time, may not have a clinic close by, or worry about the cost, and that can make it difficult to get their kids in to be vaccinated. They may also have questions about the safety of the vaccines," said Dr. Stephanie Schauer, Wisconsin Immunization Program Manager. "Parents should talk to their pediatrician, community clinic, or local health department if they have questions about how to best protect their child from illnesses."

Families can check the Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR) or contact their doctor's office or local health department to see if they are up-to-date on vaccines. 

New CDC Report Shows Wisconsin Is Behind Many Other States In Child Vaccinations

Wis. (WJFW)- A new report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed that Wisconsin children are behind other states in protecting children from vaccine-preventable diseases. The new data included diseases such as polio, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus also known as DTAP, as well as measles, mumps, and rubella also known as MMR. The report showed that 84.8% of kindergartners were up to date on their MMR vaccine, while nationally 92.7% of children have received the MMR vaccine.

"When you look at the number of children, I mean this is the population for Wisconsin kindergarten even a small change is a large number of kids, it's too many kids to be unprotected, so unfortunately we did see decreases in just about everything that was measured including DTAP," said Dr. Stephanie Schauer, Wisconsin Immunization Program Manager.

The cause of the decline in vaccine rates vary on different contributing factors throughout the state.

"The pandemic is just one, we know that immunization rates also can be affected by mis and disinformation, we know that there can be access issues in terms of families being able to get to a vaccinating clinic or health care provider, as well as just overall trust and confidence in vaccines we know has eroded a bit and all of that put together probably is helping to contribute to why we're seeing this decline," said Schauer.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services also has a Vaccines for Children program for children under the age of 18 that can be utilized if the child is eligible.

"Children who are on Medicaid or Medicare, who are uninsured or underinsured Alaskan native or American Indian, and that's about half of the children nationally as well as in Wisconsin," said Schauer. "This is a program where they can receive vaccines free of cost, so all of the routine vaccines, and it's truly important that every family knows about this program."

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