Minnesota kindergarten vaccine rate drops as measles cases climb, skepticism spreads

ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota's childhood vaccination rates are falling — and the timing couldn't be worse.

Vaccination rates are slipping

What we know:

As measles cases surge across the country at levels not seen in more than three decades, new federal data shows Minnesota is near the bottom of the country when it comes to getting kids vaccinated before they start school.

The CDC recently reported Minnesota's kindergarten vaccination rate at about 86%, ahead of only Wisconsin and Idaho. That's a drop of more than 6% since the COVID pandemic. Meanwhile, measles cases nationwide are approaching 3,000 in 2026 — the most since 1990. Last year was already eight times worse than 2024, and this year has already surpassed that.

Before kids can start school in Minnesota, they're required to be vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella, polio, chickenpox, hepatitis B, and diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough. However, parents can opt out through either a medical exemption signed by a doctor or a conscientious exemption for religious or personal beliefs. Nearly 7% of Minnesota kids currently have exemptions — a level doctors and vaccine advocates say is alarming.

"And it's just going to cause an increased spread of all these different diseases that we used to not have to deal with anymore. We thought they were gone," said Dr. Lisa Mattson, Minnesota Medical Association president.

What they're saying:

Not everyone sees the exemption process as a problem. Katie Christensen of Minnesotans for Health and Parental Rights pushed back on the idea that conscientious exemptions are being misused.

"Conscientious exemptions are not a loophole. They recognize that Minnesota is a diverse state where families hold deeply held religious and moral convictions," said Christensen.

One of the more prominent voices fueling vaccine skepticism is Aaron Siri, a vaccine lawyer and adviser to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. On Thursday, nearly 200 people attended his lecture in St. Louis Park, where he distributed his book "Vaccines, Amen," which compares vaccine support to religious fervor. Siri questions all of Minnesota's required vaccines, including polio and whooping cough, arguing they don't stop virus transmission and only protect the person receiving them — not the broader community.

"It's still no different than any other product you would take for personal benefit, for personal protection. And so if you let the government mandate this product, I don't see what line they can't cross," said Siri.

Siri also argues that vaccine safety is uncertain because of how the original trials were designed.

"There is not a single routine injected childhood vaccine on the schedule, same code vaccine, that was licensed based on a placebo control trial," said Siri.

The science behind vaccines

Why you should care:

Doctors counter that keeping kids vaccinated does protect the broader community — not just the individual child. They also note that vaccines for MMR, hepatitis B and chickenpox do stop transmission, and that serious complications are extremely rare, occurring roughly once in a million cases, and are often treatable, such as an allergic reaction.

While Siri's claim about licensing trials may have some technical basis, most vaccines have in fact been tested in placebo-controlled trials — either before or after licensing. That includes shots for rubella, pneumococcal disease, polio, measles, Tdap and COVID. All of the vaccines on the schedule also carry long safety records built up over decades.

"We don't stop studying vaccines just because they're licensed. So we have all sorts of information about this vaccine," said Karen Ernst of Voices for Vaccines.

Ernst says Siri's message may sound scientific, but much of it doesn't hold up under scientific scrutiny. She testified in favor of a bill that would have removed the conscientious objection option in Minnesota. The bill failed, though it did receive support from the Minnesota Medical Association.

Dig deeper:

Mattson said the decision to skip vaccines should be grounded in real medical concerns — not general distrust.

"That is a decision that should be made with your doctors and it should be based on medical concerns and the potential for complications because of those underlying medical conditions, not just a conscientious belief that vaccines are bad and my child should not get this vaccine," said Mattson.

Ernst said the uncertainty many parents feel is part of what's driving the decline.

"They don't know who to believe and it's scary. And so a lot of people are sort of waiting to see what happens with other people. And unfortunately, when we wait, we leave our children at risk," said Ernst.

What we don't know:

The Minnesota Medical Association is expected to push the 2027 Legislature to eliminate the conscientious objection exemption. However, at least six lawmakers who could vote on that measure attended Siri's lecture in St. Louis Park. Whether that legislative effort will gain traction remains to be seen, and it's unclear how much further vaccination rates could fall in the meantime.

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