Kindergarten “Vaccine” Exemptions Rise as More Parents Make Informed Decisions

• Vaccine exemptions among kindergartners have risen from 3% to 3.3%, according to recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), indicating a shift in parental attitudes towards vaccinations
• The decline in vaccination rates is attributed to parents’ growing concerns about the increasing number of recommended vaccines as well as their side effects
• The decline in vaccination rates has sparked fear-inducing reports and comments from health officials. But many studies have long questioned the vaccines’ efficacy
• Numerous serious adverse events have been associated with the scheduled vaccines, resulting in heightened safety concerns among parents
• Protecting the right to obtain vaccine exemptions is essential for making informed choices. We should have the freedom to decline certain vaccines for ourselves and our children if we feel the risks outweigh the benefits

(Mercola)—In this country, we’re often led to believe that vaccines are backed by solid science and have unquestionable safety. However, when you start to dig deeper, you’ll find that the evidence supporting their safety and effectiveness is often quite weak.

Since the rapid development of mRNA shots during the pandemic, many parents have been more proactive in making decisions about their children’s vaccinations. Recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)¹ reflect this shift, revealing that more parents of kindergarteners are becoming selective about which vaccines their child receives, or are choosing to delay certain vaccinations.

This change is driven by an increase in the number of recommended vaccines for children, coupled with rising concerns about their adverse effects. While mainstream media portrays this development as concerning, I believe it reflects a positive shift toward greater awareness and a desire among parents to make informed decisions about their children’s health care.

Fewer Parents Are Blindly Accepting the Scheduled Vaccines

According to the CDC,² for the 2023 to 2024 school year, vaccination coverage among kindergartners decreased for all reported vaccines, with the percentage for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) at 92.7% and the diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) at 92.3%.

These numbers fall below the 95% threshold recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.³ The CDC has also noted a record increase in vaccine exemptions among kindergartners, with the percentage of children exempt from one or more required vaccines rising from 3% to 3.3% over the past year. This increase equates to approximately 80,000 to 127,000 children.⁴

The majority of these exemptions are non-medical, indicating that parents are increasingly making conscious decisions to opt out of certain vaccinations for reasons other than health contraindications. This decline continues a trend that began in the 2019 to 2020 school year, with over 30 states reporting lower vaccination rates compared to the previous year.⁵

State-by-state data shows variations in vaccination coverage across the country. Idaho reported the lowest vaccination coverage at 79.5%, while West Virginia maintained the highest at 98.4%. Fourteen states reported exemption rates exceeding 5%, indicating that in some regions, a substantial number of parents are choosing alternative approaches to vaccination.⁶

Unsurprisingly, this decline in vaccination rates has prompted fear-inducing reports from various news outlets and comments from health officials. For instance, in a report by AP News, Dr. Raynard Washington, chair of the Big Cities Health Coalition representing 35 major metropolitan public health departments, noted that the decline in vaccination rates “explains a worrisome creep in cases of whooping cough, measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases.”⁷

Previous Research Has Questioned the Effectiveness of the Vaccines

While declining vaccination rates are being linked to the resurgence of certain diseases, numerous studies have raised doubts about the efficacy of vaccines in preventing these illnesses from the outset. This raises valid concerns for parents who are wary of exposing their children to substances they believe carry more risks than benefits.

For instance, a paper published in the journal Science Translational Medicine⁸ back in 2018 revealed that 25% of individuals vaccinated against mumps lose their immunity within eight years, while half lose it within 19 years. This decline in immunity helps explain the resurgence of mumps among college-age populations.

Moreover, virologist Stanley Plotkin stated in a Science report⁹ that research indicates the MMR vaccine produces a weaker immune response against current mumps strains compared to those from 50 years ago. Health officials subsequently recommended a third dose of MMR for 18-year-olds, further increasing the number of vaccines administered per individual. Another study published in Current Opinion in Virology showed similar findings. According to the authors:¹⁰

“Vaccine-preventable diseases (VPD) including measles and mumps have been re-emerging in countries with sustained high vaccine coverage. For mumps, waning immunity has been recognized as a major contributor to recent outbreaks … Accumulating serological and epidemiological evidence suggests that natural immunity induced by infection may be more durable compared to vaccine-induced immunity.”

When it comes to DTaP vaccines, previous research has also raised concerns regarding their long-term effectiveness and safety profile. For example, a 2021 study published in the journal Vaccine¹¹ found that its effectiveness against pertussis (whooping cough) declines rapidly over time. This finding corroborates earlier studies that similarly indicated waning immunity associated with the DTaP vaccine.^12,13,14

Vaccines Have a History of Causing Adverse Events

If a vaccine is highly effective and the risk of the disease is significant, parents would likely feel that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh its side effects. They might even support getting an extra dose.

However, if the vaccine is ineffective or if the disease is not a serious threat, the risks do not seem justified, especially if it’s been associated with serious side effects. Unfortunately, that’s the case with many of the scheduled vaccines, which have been associated with thousands of serious adverse events and hundreds of deaths.

Unofficial surveys^15,16 suggest that highly vaccinated children have more chronic health problems than unvaccinated children, and that unvaccinated children have a far lower incidence rate of autism. There’s also a growing body of research suggesting that vaccines are associated with a variety of brain and immune system disorders, including an increased risk for:

• Learning and developmental disabilities
• Brain damage
• Allergies, asthma and gut problems
• Autoimmune diseases
• Chronic infections

A study published in the Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology¹⁷ examined the correlation between autism and three specific vaccines — MMR, varicella (chickenpox) and hepatitis-A vaccines. The authors of the study suggest that the introduction of vaccines derived from human fetal cell lines, specifically the WI-38 cell line, which may harbor fetal and retroviral contaminants, could be linked to rising autism rates.

They noted a sharp increase in autism prevalence coinciding with the release of these vaccines. While this hypothesis provides one avenue for exploring the rising incidence of autism among children, it highlights a broader issue — there are many questions about vaccine science and policy that must be answered quickly before more are added to the government-recommended and mandated list for children and adults. As noted by Children’s Health Defense:¹⁸

“The truth is none of those vaccines have ever been studied or considered for their relationship to autism, so no one has any idea. This would be like trying to identify the source of a plane crash, suspecting mechanical failure, solely analyzing one of the wings, and then declaring the entire airplane free of culpability.”

What Parents Need to Know About Aluminum in Vaccines

One important aspect of vaccine safety is the presence of aluminum, a neurotoxic substance linked to increasing rates of autism and Alzheimer’s disease. For years, I have cautioned that vaccines are a significant source of aluminum exposure.

Vaccines contain a variety of components, each playing a specific role in the product’s intended function. The primary ingredient is the antigen, typically a weakened or inactivated form of the target pathogen. Adjuvants are included to supposedly enhance the immune response, with aluminum being one of the most common. Preservatives, stabilizers and residual components from the manufacturing process may also be present in the final product.¹⁹

Aluminum adjuvants have been used in vaccines for nearly a century, and were approved based on their efficacy rather than safety data. The assumption of safety, rather than rigorous testing, has led to growing concerns about long-term effects. This is particularly worrisome given that injected aluminum bypasses the body’s natural filtration systems, making it more bioavailable than ingested aluminum.^20,21

The presence of aluminum in vaccines is especially concerning for infants and young children who receive multiple doses according to recommended schedules. Studies have shown that when adjusted for body weight, the current CDC childhood vaccine schedule exposes children to aluminum levels far exceeding estimated safe limits. This raises questions about aluminum accumulation in various organs, including the brain.

Research has demonstrated aluminum’s ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and accumulate in brain tissue.²² Studies have found significant amounts of aluminum in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, often co-located with amyloid-beta protein plaques. Some researchers have even suggested that without aluminum exposure, Alzheimer’s disease might not occur within the normal human lifespan.²³

The biological effects of aluminum are wide-ranging and impact multiple bodily systems. Aluminum has been shown to adversely affect neuronal function, disrupt cellular signaling, worsen the effects of other heavy metals and influence gene expression. It also causes mitochondrial dysfunction and ATP depletion, setting the stage for various chronic diseases.²⁴

Why Protecting Vaccine Exemptions Is Important

These known side effects of vaccines remind us why it’s so important to protect our right to make informed choices about vaccinations and to obtain vaccine exemptions in the U.S. Every individual needs to have the freedom to choose what’s best for themselves and their children, including the option to decline certain vaccines if they believe the risks are too high.

Voluntary consent is a foundation of ethical health care. It allows families to consider the risks and benefits of vaccines based on their unique health conditions. Given the lack of the science behind vaccine safety, maintaining vaccine exemption is a necessary protective measure. This is not anti-science, but a call for more thorough, independent research and greater transparency.

When it comes to protecting your family’s health, staying informed is your best strategy. Take the time to do your own research, ask questions and trust your instincts instead of simply following mandates or giving in to societal pressure. By actively seeking out information, you’re ensuring that your family’s health is in your own hands — not dictated by fear or powers that be.

VAERS — An Important Resource for Vaccine Safety Monitoring

The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) serves as an important tool for monitoring the safety of vaccines in the U.S. Established in 1990, VAERS is a national early warning system, co-managed by the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to detect possible safety issues with vaccines.²⁵

The system allows healthcare providers, vaccine manufacturers and the general public to submit reports of adverse events that occur after vaccination. Anyone can access and search the VAERS database, which includes information such as the type of vaccine administered, the timing of the adverse event and a description of the reported symptoms.

For parents considering whether to vaccinate their child, reviewing VAERS data can be part of the process of making an informed decision. For easy access, see OpenVaers.com.²⁶

• ^{1, 2, 4, 5, 6} CDC, New Findings on Vaccination Coverage and Exemptions Among Kindergartners (2023-2024 School Year)
• ³ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Healthy People 2030 – Vaccination Objectives
• ⁷ AP News, October 3, 2024
• ⁸ Sci Transl Med. 2018 Mar 21;10(433):eaao5945
• ⁹ Science, March 21, 2018
• ¹⁰ Current Opinion in Virology Volume 40, February 2020, Pages 48-54
• ¹¹ Vaccine. 2021 May 27;39(23):3120-3130
• ¹² American Academy of Pediatrics, June 10, 2019
• ¹³ Pediatrics (2016) 137 (3): e20153326
• ¹⁴ CMAJ November 01, 2016 188 (16) E399-E406
• ¹⁵ SAGE Open Med. 2020 May 27;8:2050312120925344
• ¹⁶ NewportRI.com March 21, 2019
• ¹⁷ Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology September 2014: 6(9); 271-286 (PDF)
• ¹⁸ Children’s Health Defense, August 11, 2020
• ¹⁹ Australian Academy of Science, What Is in a Vaccine?
• ²⁰ Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2017 Sep 29;114(39):653–659
• ²¹ EFSA J. 2008 Jul 15;6(7):754
• ²² Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(8), 7228
• ²³ SciTechDaily.com, January 21, 2020
• ²⁴ Toxics. 2021 Jun 17;9(6):142
• ²⁵ CDC, August 7, 2024
• ²⁶ OpenVaers