Requests for vaccine exemption forms in July ahead of the new school year in Texas spiked 36% from 2023, The Texas Tribune reported Monday.
Given that each requester can seek exemptions for up to eight individuals, the number of children potentially covered under those requests rose from 23,231 in 2023 to 30,596 in July, according to the Tribune.
Texas schools are on pace to have the lowest vaccination rates in decades if exemption rates continue to climb. Further, beginning Sept. 1, exemption forms will be easier to come by under a new law making the forms downloadable rather than having to be mailed.
“I do think that there is a problem — period — that is worse than we have known about previously,” Terri Burke, executive director of the Immunization Partnership, told the Tribune.
With a 95% vaccination rate considered the gold standard for herd immunity, rates for Texas kindergartners hover around 93%, according to the Tribune. Some districts report rates of 80% or lower.
Texas has more than 25,000 kindergartners not fully vaccinated against measles, which is the highest in the nation, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month. Florida was No. 2 and California third.
The Texas Department of State Health Services announced Monday that the measles outbreak that hit West Texas is officially over. It’s been 42 days since a new case was reported.
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