Former CDC Adviser Urges Calm as Kindergarten Vaccination Rates Decline

New figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show kindergarten vaccination rates in the United States edged down slightly during the 2025-2026 school year.

Dr. Robert Malone, the former vice chair of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, told News Outlet that the modest decline should not be viewed as cause for alarm.

The CDC released its latest school vaccination data Monday, reporting a 0.1% decrease in vaccine coverage among children entering kindergarten, along with a rise in parents seeking vaccine exemptions for their children. Malone, however, said the change has been overstated.

“The latest CDC data indicates a 0.1% year-in-year decline in the uptake or acceptance of the vaccine schedule among kindergartners. In certain contexts, the average across the United States shows roughly a 1% shift. Regardless, we are still talking about a very low single-digit lack of compliance with the CDC’s recommended vaccine schedule,” Malone, an accredited physician and veteran scientist, told News Outlet.

“Those are the facts,” he continued, “and they are not particularly alarming.”

“Even by the CDC’s own report, we still maintain a very high rate of compliance among kindergartners,” he added.

Malone also took issue with how some media outlets have framed the CDC vaccination data, criticizing coverage that emphasized the drop.

“The narrative that this represents a clear and compelling signal of parents becoming disaffected with vaccination… whoever’s promoting that kind of messaging, it’s not in the data,” he added

Malone specifically cited CNBC’s coverage and its mention of an ongoing measles outbreak in the U.S., stressing that the U.S. is not an outlier.

“Media outlets like CNBC have highlighted that we are in the middle of a historic measles outbreak. However, context is critical: this outbreak is not restricted to the United States. It is occurring worldwide, including in Canada and across many nations that have not experienced this level of vaccine controversy or hesitancy,” he told News Outlet.

He also added that vaccination is still the best protection against contracting measles.

“Regarding the overall picture: measles cases are on the rise globally, and vaccination remains the most effective protection against infection. However, does this new kindergarten data represent a major threat? Absolutely not,” he stated to News Outlet.

Malone, who was a vocal critic of vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, did pin some blame on falling trust in the scientific establishment for the slight down tick in inoculations.

“Does it represent a potential signal that a certain part of the population, very small, is growing in its skepticism of the benefits of childhood vaccination? I would say, yeah, that is that signal,” he told News Outlet.

Still, despite growing mistrust, vaccination rates remain strong, Malone argued.

“I think we can all agree [there were] failures in accurate communication by the government during COVID. And certainly they’re highlighted in the recent Tony Fauci hearings and the various disclosures coming out of the Senate,” Malone told News Outlet.

“Despite all of that, despite all the controversy around the potential role, the hypothesized role of childhood vaccine schedules being linked in some way to autism, we still have very robust year-in, year-out uptake of vaccines in kindergarten ages,” Malone told News Outlet.

“The takeaway is simple: keep calm and carry on. There is nothing in this data to panic about,” Malone concluded.