New CDC data show kindergarten vaccination coverage fell nationally while exemptions reached a record high. California has stronger school vaccine requirements, but local gaps—and barriers to getting children vaccinated—still matter for Latino families.
The nation’s kindergarten vaccination rates are moving in the wrong direction.
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that during the 2025–2026 school year, vaccination coverage among U.S. kindergartners declined for all of the major vaccines tracked by the agency, while exemptions from one or more required vaccines reached a record 4.2%.
That means about 155,000 kindergartners were exempt from at least one required vaccine, up from 3.6% the previous year. MMR coverage fell to 92.4%, while about 280,000 kindergartners lacked documentation showing they had completed the MMR series.
For California families, however, the most important question isn’t simply whether parents are refusing vaccines.
It is this:
Are some children falling behind because their families can’t easily get them vaccinated on time?
That distinction matters particularly for Latino families, because broader research has documented vaccination-access barriers affecting Latino parents, even though the new CDC kindergarten report itself does not break its numbers down by race or ethnicity.
California is not following the national exemption story exactly
California has one of the country’s stronger school vaccination requirements.
The state eliminated personal-belief exemptions for school-required vaccines under SB 277. As a result, California’s exemption picture is different from states where religious or philosophical exemptions remain widely available.
California has nevertheless seen vaccination gaps.
The California Department of Public Health reported that 94% of California kindergartners received all required immunizations in its latest statewide children’s health data, while MMR coverage was reported at 94.5% in that dataset.
Earlier state reporting found California’s kindergarten MMR coverage remained above 95% overall for the 2024–2025 school year, the level CDPH identifies as important for reducing the risk of community measles transmission. But statewide averages can conceal significant differences among communities and counties.
That’s the first lesson from the new national numbers:
A strong statewide vaccination rate does not mean every California community has the same level of protection.
Why the MMR number matters
MMR protects against measles, mumps and rubella. California requires two MMR doses for kindergarten entry, with both doses given on or after a child’s first birthday.
The CDC’s new national kindergarten figure—92.4%—is below the approximately 95% coverage level generally used as a benchmark for reducing community spread of measles. The CDC estimates that about 280,000 kindergartners attended school without documentation of completing the MMR series during the 2025–2026 school year.
That does not mean every unvaccinated child will become sick.
It means there are more opportunities for measles to find susceptible people when the virus enters a community.
California has already seen measles activity in 2026. In March, CDPH reported that 96% of the state’s measles cases at that point involved people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown.
For parents, that turns an abstract percentage into a practical question:
Is my child’s protection up to date?
The Latino vaccination story is more complicated than “hesitant” or “not hesitant”
The CDC’s new kindergarten report does not provide a Latino-specific exemption or vaccination rate, so it would be misleading to claim that the new national decline is specifically a Latino decline.
But other CDC research has documented disparities in childhood vaccination coverage by race, ethnicity, poverty, insurance status and geography. A 2024 CDC analysis found lower coverage among Hispanic children for some childhood vaccines and linked vaccination gaps to broader socioeconomic and healthcare-access differences.
That matters because vaccination conversations can too easily collapse different situations into one category.
A child may be behind because a parent has serious concerns about a vaccine.
Another child may be behind because a parent couldn’t get time off work for an appointment.
Another family may have changed doctors, lost insurance, moved, struggled to find an appointment or simply missed a dose during the pandemic years.
Those are different problems.
And they require different solutions.
For some Latino families, access can be the problem
Research from UnidosUS involving California Latino parents identified barriers including work obligations, misinformation, immigration concerns and difficulties accessing vaccination services. The organization’s national survey of Latino parents also found strong support for reducing scheduling and financial barriers associated with taking children to get vaccinated.
That doesn’t mean Latino parents don’t care about vaccination.
In fact, UnidosUS has found substantial support among Latino parents for childhood vaccination requirements and strong motivation to vaccinate children to protect their families.
The more useful question, then, is:
What would make it easier for a busy California family to get every recommended dose on time?
That could mean appointments outside traditional work hours, transportation, affordable care, Spanish-language information, reliable reminders and a trusted healthcare professional who can answer questions.
A vaccination gap is not automatically a vaccine-hesitancy story.
Even vaccinated children depend on the community around them
Parents sometimes assume that if their own child is vaccinated, falling vaccination rates elsewhere are not their problem.
They are.
No vaccine provides perfect protection, and community immunity helps limit the ability of highly contagious diseases such as measles to spread.
When enough people are protected, an infected person is less likely to encounter someone susceptible to the disease. When coverage falls, those transmission pathways become easier to find.
That matters especially for babies too young to receive certain vaccines and people whose immune systems cannot respond normally to vaccination.
It also matters because measles can spread extremely efficiently through communities.
California’s public-health guidance continues to recommend routine childhood immunization, including MMR, and the state has endorsed the 2026 American Academy of Pediatrics child and adolescent immunization schedule.
For parents who want more information about their child’s overall health,not just vaccines,Parriva’s health coverage also looks at issues affecting Latino children and families, including new federal autism guidance and what California Latino families should know.
What California parents can do now
The new CDC numbers are a reason to check—not panic.
1. Check your child’s immunization record
If you are unsure whether your child has received all required kindergarten vaccines, ask your pediatrician, clinic or school about the immunization record.
California’s Shots for School guidance explains the vaccines required for school and childcare. The state says California’s school and childcare vaccine requirements remain in place.
2. Ask whether your child needs a catch-up dose
A child who missed a vaccine does not necessarily have to start the entire vaccination series over.
Healthcare providers can determine which doses are needed based on the child’s age and vaccination history. The CDC provides catch-up vaccination guidance for children who fall behind.
3. Ask questions if you’re worried about safety
Parents do not have to choose between silently accepting information they don’t understand and refusing vaccination.
Ask the child’s healthcare provider:
- What vaccine is my child due for?
- What does it protect against?
- What side effects are common?
- Are there reasons my child should wait or avoid a particular vaccine?
- Does my child need a catch-up schedule?
A trusted clinician can put the risks and benefits into the context of the child’s age and medical history.
4. If access is the problem, say so
If taking a child to the doctor means losing a day’s wages, arranging transportation or finding someone who speaks your preferred language, tell the clinic.
Those barriers are part of the vaccination problem.
California’s Department of Public Health provides information on immunizations, school requirements and where families can seek vaccination services through its Immunization Branch.
The bigger lesson from the CDC numbers
The new national data should get attention because the numbers are moving in opposite directions: vaccination coverage is declining while exemptions are increasing.
But California’s experience suggests the solution cannot be reduced to one explanation.
Some families may have vaccine concerns.
Some children may have legitimate medical circumstances requiring individualized decisions.
And some families simply need an easier path to getting children caught up.
For Latino families, understanding that difference matters.
The CDC’s kindergarten dataset cannot tell us how many Latino children are behind on their vaccines. But broader research tells us that vaccination disparities can intersect with poverty, insurance, geography and access to healthcare—and California Latino parents have reported practical barriers that can make vaccination harder.
That means the most useful response is not to label families.
It is to remove barriers, answer questions honestly and make it easier for children to receive the protection they need.
The bottom line
California’s vaccination rates remain stronger than those in many parts of the country, and the state maintains strict school-entry requirements.
But “better than the national average” is not the same as “every child is protected.”
As the CDC’s latest kindergarten data show, the national vaccine shield is thinning. California families can help strengthen it by checking their children’s records, catching up on missed vaccinations and talking with trusted healthcare professionals about questions or concerns.
For Latino families especially, public-health efforts should address both sides of the problem:
confidence in vaccines—and access to vaccines.
Both matter if California wants every child to start school protected.
This article is for general informational purposes and is not medical advice. Parents and caregivers should consult a qualified healthcare professional about their child’s individual vaccination needs and medical history.
Official resources: CDC SchoolVaxView, California Department of Public Health Immunization Branch, and California Shots for School.
