Fewer Tennessee kindergarteners were vaccinated during the 2025-26 school year, according to new data released Aug. 17 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nationwide, vaccination coverage among kindergarteners declined for all routinely reported vaccines compared with the previous school year.
Coverage ranged from 92.0% for the diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine to 92.4% for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and polio vaccines.
More than half of states reported declines in coverage for MMR, DTaP, polio and varicella vaccines.
The CDC estimates that about 280,000 kindergarteners attended school during the 2025-26 school year without documentation showing they had completed the MMR vaccine series.
The report
marks the first nationwide kindergarten vaccination data released since Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic, became U.S. health secretary.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at reducing the number of recommended childhood vaccinations by limiting the immunization schedule to 11 vaccines. The order also recommended administering measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations as three separate shots given during different visits.
Here's what to know in Tennessee.
CDC data shows increase in Tennessee vaccine exemptions
Tennessee's vaccine exemption rate among kindergarteners continued to rise during the 2025-26 school year, reaching 4.8% and affecting 3,510 students, according to CDC data.
That marks an increase from 3.8% (2,985 students) for the 2024-25 school year and 3.6% in 2023-24.
The rise was driven almost entirely by nonmedical exemptions, which accounted for 4.6% of Tennessee kindergartners, or 3,397 children.
Trump signs order calling for fewer childhood vaccines
On Aug. 10, Trump signed an executive order "calling for more vaccine flexibility and research" and fewer childhood vaccinations, in addition to splitting the childhood measles, mumps and rubella vaccine into three shots and delivering them at separate medical visits.
"You have the MMR, we want it in three separate vaccinations, given at separate times," said Trump from the Oval Office as he signed the order. "Together there could be a possibility they're quite lethal and separately, it looks like they are not at all lethal, but just very effective."
The MMR vaccine is not lethal, USA TODAY reported, and medical research shows no health benefit or reduced risk from splitting it. In contrast, separating the shots increases injection pain, leaves children unprotected longer, and lowers overall vaccination rates, according to experts.
Manufacturers also do not produce standalone measles, mumps or rubella vaccines for routine use in the United States.
Trump issued his order months after trying to slash the childhood vaccine schedule from 18 to 11. That move was blocked by a judge in March.
Contributing: USA TODAY
Diana Leyva covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Fewer Tennessee kindergarteners vaccinated as nonmedical exemptions climb during 2025-2026 school year
