Vaccination coverage for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) among U.S. kindergarteners has remained below the federal target for a sixth consecutive school year. According to data released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 92.4 percent of kindergarten students received the MMR vaccine during the 2025-26 school year. Public health officials consider a 95 percent coverage rate the ideal threshold for preventing widespread outbreaks.
The U.S. last met the 95 percent target during the 2019-20 school year, when the coverage rate was 95.2 percent. Since that time, the national rate has not risen above 94 percent. While the current 92.4 percent figure is nearly identical to the 92.5 percent recorded in the previous school year, the CDC reported a rise in vaccine exemptions. The exemption rate grew from 3.6 percent to 4.2 percent, with increases noted in Washington, D.C., and 41 states.
The data shows that 24 states now report vaccine exemption rates exceeding 5 percent. These statistics arrive as the U.S. manages 2,566 reported measles cases across 47 jurisdictions this year, which the CDC identifies as the highest number in more than three decades. In response to vaccination trends, President Trump signed an executive order last week requesting that the MMR vaccine be split into three separate doses administered during different visits.
Individual households may notice changes in how these immunizations are administered following a recent executive order by President Trump. The order calls for splitting the combined MMR shot into separate monovalent (single-disease) vaccines. Critics of the policy, as reported by The Hill, state this would require families to schedule and pay for three separate medical appointments and co-pays rather than one. Furthermore, there are currently no monovalent vaccines available for measles, mumps, or rubella, meaning the day-to-day impact on parents depends on whether drugmakers decide to produce these individual components.
The knock-on effects of lower coverage rates involve a higher risk of localized outbreaks that can grow quickly in undervaccinated pockets. With 2,566 cases already recorded this year, the current figures set a precedent for the most significant measles activity in 30 years. Moving forward, the impact of the executive order remains uncertain, as drugmakers have expressed a lack of interest in producing the separate vaccine components requested by the administration. No specific dates for the availability of monovalent vaccines have been reported.