Health

Childhood Vaccination Rates Were Falling Even Before the Rise of R.F.K. Jr.

Published

1 year ago

January 13, 2025

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Childhood Vaccination Rates Were Falling Even Before the Rise of R.F.K. Jr.

After years of holding steady, American vaccination rates against once-common childhood diseases have been dropping.

Share of U.S. kindergartners
vaccinated against …

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Nationwide, the rate of kindergartners with complete records for the measles vaccine declined from around 95 percent before the pandemic to under 93 percent last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Immunization rates against polio, whooping cough and chickenpox fell similarly.

Average rates remain high, but those national figures mask far more precipitous drops in some states, counties and school districts.

In those areas, falling vaccination rates are creating new pockets of students no longer protected by herd immunity, the range considered high enough to stop an outbreak. For a community, an outbreak can be extremely disruptive. For children, measles and other once-common childhood diseases can lead to hospitalization and life-threatening complications.

Change in kindergarten measles vaccination rates

Prepandemic is the average of 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 data, though not all years were available for all states. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Delaware (in 2024) report the rate of students who have completed all required vaccines, not just the measles series. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Immunization rates fell in most states early in the pandemic, and continued to fall in the years that followed.

States, not the federal government, create and enforce their own vaccine mandates, but the incoming Trump administration could encourage anti-vaccine sentiment and undermine state programs. The president-elect’s nominee for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has spread the false theory that vaccines cause autism, among other misinformation.

But immunization rates had been falling for years before Mr. Kennedy’s recent political rise.

There are now an estimated 280,000 kindergartners without documented vaccination against measles, an increase of some 100,000 children from before the pandemic.

“These pockets are just waiting for an introduction of measles,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “It’s trouble waiting to happen.”

Why rates are falling

As the pandemic strained trust in the country’s public health system, more families of kindergartners formally opted out of routine vaccines, citing medical, philosophical or religious reasons. Others simply didn’t submit proof of a complete vaccination series, for any number of reasons, falling into noncompliance.

The shifts in exemptions mostly fall along political lines. In states that supported Mr. Trump for president in November, the number of students with official exemptions have increased on average (rising everywhere but West Virginia). Exemption rates rose in a few states that supported Vice President Kamala Harris — including Oregon, New Jersey and Minnesota — but stayed relatively flat or fell in most.

Share of kindergartners with a vaccine exemption

Includes medical and nonmedical exemptions. Montana was excluded due to lack of data. Wyoming is missing data for 2017-18. Delaware is missing data for 2019-20. West Virginia and Illinois are missing data for 2020-21. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The pattern for noncompliance looks different: The rate of children with no vaccination record shot up in both red and blue states.

Not all children with missing records are unvaccinated. Some are in the process of getting their shots, delayed because of the pandemic, and others just never submitted documentation. Schools are supposed to bar out-of-compliance students from attending, but whether they do varies from state to state and school to school.

Share of kindergartners with no recorded vaccination, and no exemption

Montana was excluded due to lack of data. Wyoming is missing data for 2017-18. Delaware is missing data for 2019-20. West Virginia and Illinois are missing data for 2020-21. Alaska is missing data for 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Surveys reveal a new and deep partisan division on this issue. In 2019, 67 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaners told Gallup that childhood immunizations were “extremely important,” compared with 52 percent of their Republican counterparts. Five years later, the enthusiasm among the Democratic grouping had fallen slightly to 63 percent. For Republicans and G.O.P. leaners it had plunged to 26 percent.

Today, 31 percent of Republicans say “vaccines are more dangerous than the diseases they were designed to protect.” Just 5 percent of Democrats say the same.

“There seems to be a divide in terms of people’s feelings about science and skepticism towards the government,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for Michigan. “I think some of those divisions are becoming apparent in vaccination rates.”

Lawmakers in numerous states have tried to roll back school vaccine mandates, but most changes have been minor: Louisiana required schools to pair any mandate notifications with information about exemption laws; Idaho allowed 18-year-old students to exempt themselves; and Montana stopped collecting data from schools on immunizations.

But there are a few places where state-level policy changes, or lack thereof, appear to have had a direct effect on rates.

In Mississippi, which had long held the country’s highest kindergarten measles vaccination rate, a federal judge ordered the state to allow religious objections; the state’s vaccination rate fell. In contrast, West Virginia’s governor vetoed a bill that would have loosened school vaccine policy; the state now has the highest rate.

Rates rose in Maine and Connecticut, two states that eliminated nonmedical exemptions during the pandemic. They also rose in Alabama, according to C.D.C. data, though the state declined to comment on why.

Vulnerable pockets

Epidemiologists say that when vaccination rates slip under 90 percent for measles, outbreaks become significantly harder to contain. At some point below that, spread becomes almost inevitable if measles is introduced.

There are thousands more schools with vaccination rates below 90 percent compared with just five years ago, according to a New York Times analysis of detailed data from 22 states.

Change in share of schools with vaccination rates below 90 percent

*Texas counts districts, not individual schools.

Most states publish measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine rates, but several publish only how many students complete all mandated shots. Most states exclude schools with small numbers of students. Most states publish rates for kindergartners only; for several states, however, these rates represent entire schools. New York data excludes N.Y.C. public schools. Source: state governments.

Schools with falling rates can be found in red and blue states, in large urban districts and in small rural ones.

Measles vaccination rates dropped from 83 percent to 75 percent in Yavapai County in Arizona; from 93 percent to 78 percent in Pacific County on the coastline of Washington; from 97 percent to 93 percent in Union County, N.J., just outside New York City — places that span the political spectrum.

These numbers capture vaccination rates only for kindergartners, often partway through the school year, so they include students who may have finished their vaccine series later or will go on to finish it. And across the U.S., most students remain protected against childhood diseases.

But high rates nationally don’t help places no longer protected by herd immunity, as evidenced by recent outbreaks of childhood diseases. Measles and whooping cough cases both climbed last year; polio partly paralyzed a man in New York in 2022.

Growing anti-vaccine sentiment is only part of the public health challenge. In the Minneapolis public schools, completion rates for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine among kindergartners dropped from around 90 percent to 75 percent. The district’s exemption rate barely moved; instead, far more students had incomplete vaccination records.

Few of those students’ families are strongly anti-vaccine, said Luisa Pessoa-Brandao, director of public health initiatives with the Minneapolis Health Department. Some are immigrants who moved into the district recently, missing either shots or records. Others missed regular doctor visits during the pandemic and got out of the habit of preventative care.

“I think we’re going to be catching up for a while,” Ms. Pessoa-Brandao said.

While vaccination rates were dropping in Minneapolis, they climbed in neighboring St. Paul Public Schools, from around 91.4 percent to around 93 percent, according to state data.

The district attributed the rise to strict new procedures started in 2021, including letters and phone calls to families in their native languages; more vaccines available on district grounds; and monthly compliance reports — an extra mile that not every district is able or willing to go.

There are still parents who opt out. But during a measles outbreak last year, a few changed their mind, said Rebecca Schmidt, the St. Paul district’s director of health and wellness.

“The fear of measles,” she said, “is sometimes greater than the ease” of getting an exemption.

Data for all 50 states

Kindergarten measles vaccination rate

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For some years in some states, the rate represents a complete vaccine series, not just the measles vaccine.

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Health

GLP-1 Drugs Linked to Osteoporosis and Gout: Here’s How To Stay Safe

Published

7 hours ago

March 6, 2026

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GLP-1 Drugs Linked to Osteoporosis and Gout: Here’s How To Stay Safe

GLP-1 Drugs Linked To Increased Risk of Osteoporosis and Gout | Woman’s World

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Health

Ozempic-style drugs could slash complication risks after heart attacks, research suggests

Published

8 hours ago

March 5, 2026

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Ozempic-style drugs could slash complication risks after heart attacks, research suggests

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A popular class of weight-loss drugs may prevent life-threatening cardiac complications by opening microscopic blood vessels that often remain blocked after a heart attack, according to a study published this week in Nature Communications.

The research, led by the University of Bristol and University College London, identified a biological brain-gut-heart signaling pathway.

This discovery appears to explain how GLP-1 drugs — which mimic glucagon-like peptide-1, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar and appetite — protect heart tissue from a condition known as “no-reflow.”

“In nearly half of all heart attack patients, tiny blood vessels within the heart muscle remain narrowed, even after the main artery is cleared during emergency medical treatment,” Dr. Svetlana Mastitskaya, the study’s lead author and a senior lecturer at Bristol Medical School, said in a press release.

“This results in a complication known as ‘no-reflow,’ where blood is unable to reach certain parts of the heart tissue.”

In nearly half of all heart attack patients, tiny capillaries (blood vessels) remain narrowed even after the main blocked artery is cleared. (iStock)

This lack of blood flow increases the risk of heart failure and death within a year. GLP-1 medications could prevent this, according to the researchers.

How it works

When the GLP-1 hormone is released in the gut or administered as a drug, it sends a signal to the brain, which then sends a signal to the heart that switches on special potassium channels in tiny cells called pericytes.

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When these channels open, the pericytes relax, which allows the small blood vessels (capillaries) to widen and improve blood flow to the heart muscle, the researchers noted.

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The new study used animal models and cellular imaging to track how GLP-1 interacts with heart tissue. When the researchers removed the potassium channels, the drugs no longer protected the heart — confirming they play a key role.

The findings suggest that existing GLP-1 medications, already used for type 2 diabetes and obesity, could be repurposed as emergency treatments. (iStock)

The findings suggest that existing GLP-1 medications, already used for type 2 diabetes and obesity, could be repurposed as emergency treatments during or immediately after a heart attack to reduce tissue damage.

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The researchers noted several limitations, including that the study relied on animal models.

Clinical trials are necessary to determine whether the brain-gut-heart pathway operates with the same timing and efficacy in humans.

While the study highlights the drug’s immediate benefits during a heart attack, it des not establish whether long-term use of these drugs provides a pre-existing level of protection. (iStock)

Additionally, while the study highlights the drug’s immediate benefits during a heart attack, it does not establish whether long-term use of the medication provides a pre-existing level of protection.

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The research was primarily funded by the British Heart Foundation.

Khloe Quill is a lifestyle production assistant with Fox News Digital. She and the lifestyle team cover a range of story topics including food and drink, travel, and health.

Health

Do collagen supplements really improve skin? Major review reveals the truth

Published

20 hours ago

March 5, 2026

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Do collagen supplements really improve skin? Major review reveals the truth

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Collagen supplements have exploded in popularity, touted as everything from an anti-aging miracle to a muscle recovery booster.

But a sweeping new review conducted by U.K. researchers suggests that while collagen may help improve skin elasticity and ease arthritis pain, it does little for athletic performance or wrinkle reduction.

Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University analyzed 16 systematic reviews and 113 randomized controlled trials involving nearly 8,000 participants worldwide, which they say is the most extensive evaluation of collagen’s health effects to date.

The review found consistent evidence that collagen supplementation improves skin elasticity and hydration over time and provides significant relief from osteoarthritis-related joint pain and stiffness, according to findings published in Aesthetic Surgery Journal Open Forum.

A large U.K. review found that collagen supplements may improve skin elasticity and hydration over time. (iStock)

The researchers, however, did not find meaningful improvements in post-exercise muscle recovery, soreness or tendon mechanical properties (strength, springiness and stretch resistance).

“Collagen is not a cure-all, but it does have credible benefits when used consistently over time, particularly for skin and osteoarthritis,” co-author Lee Smith, professor of public health at Anglia Ruskin University, said in a statement.

EXPERIMENTAL SERUM SHOWS PROMISE IN REVERSING BALDNESS WITHIN 20 DAYS

“Our findings show clear benefits in key areas of healthy aging, while also dispelling some of the myths surrounding its use,” Smith added.

Collagen, the most abundant protein in the body, supports skin, bones, tendons, cartilage and connective tissue, according to experts. Natural collagen production begins to drop in early adulthood and declines more sharply with age.

The study found that collagen supplements may help reduce joint pain and stiffness in people with osteoarthritis. (iStock)

The review found that long-term collagen supplementation was linked to improved skin firmness and hydration, but did not help skin roughness — a proxy for visible wrinkles.

Benefits appear to accumulate gradually, suggesting that collagen should not be viewed as an “anti-wrinkle ‘quick fix,’ but as a foundational dermal support for individuals seeking holistic skin maintenance,” the researchers said.

“If we define anti-aging as a product or technique designed to prevent the appearance of getting older, then I believe our findings do support this claim for some parameters,” Smith told the BBC. “For example, an improvement in skin tone and moisture is associated with a more youthful-looking appearance.”

Collagen supplementation was linked to reduced pain and stiffness in people with osteoarthritis, with stronger benefits seen over longer periods of use, and showed modest improvements in muscle mass and tendon structure that may support healthy aging.

Collagen did not significantly improve skin roughness, a marker of visible wrinkles. (iStock)

However, it did not show meaningful results when used as a fast-acting sports performance supplement, and evidence for benefits related to cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure and oral health was mixed or inconclusive.

Dr. Daniel Ghiyam, a California-based physician and longevity specialist, said the findings align with what he sees in clinical practice.

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“Collagen is a targeted support tool, not a foundation of health or performance,” Ghiyam, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. “When marketed that way, it makes sense. When marketed as a cure-all, it doesn’t hold up to the data.”

The authors noted that while many previous collagen studies have received financial support from the supplement industry, the current review did not receive industry funding.

Experts say collagen supplements may offer modest benefits for skin hydration and joint comfort, but they are not a cure-all. (iStock)

The team called for more high-quality clinical trials examining long-term outcomes, optimal dosages and differences between collagen sources, such as marine, bovine and plant-based alternatives.

Among its limitations, the review could not determine whether certain forms of collagen work better than others or what the optimal regimen should be.

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While the review included randomized controlled trials, the quality of the studies varied, with newer research generally showing stronger results.

Experts say more data and studies are needed to build on the findings. They also noted that diet plays a crucial role in skin health.

Collagen supplements, often sold as powders or pills, may improve skin elasticity and ease joint pain, experts say. (iStock)

Dr. Erum Ilyas, a Pennsylvania-based dermatologist and chair of dermatology at Drexel University College of Medicine, noted that the review analyzed previously published meta-analyses rather than generating new primary data.

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“At this time, I have not seen sufficiently strong independent evidence to routinely recommend collagen supplements to my patients,” Ilyas, who was not involved in the review, told Fox News Digital.

“Although some studies show modest improvements in markers such as hydration and elasticity, there remains limited independent, biopsy-confirmed evidence demonstrating sustained increases in dermal collagen content,” she added.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the researchers for comment.

Deirdre Bardolf is a lifestyle writer with Fox News Digital.