Mississippi, Tennessee and West Virginia have some of the highest childhood vaccination rates. Experts worry a rising tide of vaccine skepticism is causing those bright spots to dim.

Summary

Childhood vaccination rates in Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia, traditionally high, are declining due to rising vaccine skepticism.

CDC data shows the percentage of kindergartners with vaccine exemptions reached a record 3.3% nationwide in 2023-24.

Experts link this trend to anti-vaccine movements and “health freedom” advocacy.

This trend could lead to a resurgence of preventable diseases like measles and whooping cough, as seen in states with low vaccine uptake like Florida and Georgia.

  • ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world
    10·
    23 hours ago

    And there’s a very good chance there will be no lessons learned, only blame shifted to the democrats or some other group, for secretly having a biolab. There are even those, who see vaccine preventable diseases as a “cleanser”, which will “get rid of those unworthy of life and resources from our species”. There are legit eugenicists, who now say “autism was caused by vaccines, by letting the human trash survive measles”.