CDC data show Minnesota kindergarten vaccinations falling again
CDC's 2025-26 kindergarten data show Minnesota's MMR vaccination rate fell to 85.7% while the state's exemption rate rose to 6.9%, leaving coverage well below the 95% herd-immunity benchmark.[1]
Minnesota's MMR coverage was 86.5% in 2024-25, so the latest figure represents a 0.8 percentage-point drop.[1] Other kindergarten coverage rates were DTaP 86.1%, varicella 86.2%, hepatitis B 91.8% and polio 86.7%, all below the 95% threshold.[1]
In 2024-25, Minnesota's kindergarten vaccine exemption rate was 5.9%; it rose to 6.9% in the 2025-26 data.[1] The state's 6.9% exemption rate is substantially higher than the national exemption rate of 4.2%.[1]
Local and national coverage declines have prompted renewed concern among public health officials because HHS cites 95% as the herd-immunity benchmark for measles, a level Minnesota remains well under.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- CDC 2025-26 kindergarten data put Minnesota’s MMR coverage at 85.7%, down from 86.5% in 2024-25.
- Minnesota’s kindergarten vaccine exemption rate rose to 6.9%, up from 5.9% the previous year, above the 4.2% national record.
- Other Minnesota kindergarten coverage rates are DTaP 86.1%, varicella 86.2%, hepatitis B 91.8% and polio 86.7%, all below the 95% herd-immunity benchmark for measles cited by HHS.
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