The portion of U.S. children getting routine vaccinations required for kindergarten dipped slightly during the pandemic.
A government report released Thursday looked at vaccination rates for the 2020-21 school year. It shows rates were close to 94% for measles, whooping cough and chickenpox vaccinations.
That was down 1% from a year earlier. It means 35,000 U.S. children entered kindergarten without evidence of complete vaccination for extremely contagious diseases.
Pandemic-related disruptions likely contributed to the decline, the report said, as pediatricians canceled non-emergency appointments, parents skipped checkups for their children and vaccine requirements were eased for students doing remote learning.
The report raises concerns for potential increase in those diseases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there are so far no signs of any outbreaks.
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