Most families choose to vaccinate children, but more than a third of Oregon schools at risk of measles outbreak
PORTLAND, Ore.—State health officials urge parents and guardians to check their school’s vaccination rate to help families understand the local risk of a disease outbreak, especially for children who are not up to date on the MMR vaccine for
Kindergarteners and nonmedical exemptions
For the 2025-2026 school year, Oregon’s rate of nonmedical exemptions for required school vaccines for kindergarteners has climbed to a record high of 10.9%—up from 6.9% in the 2021-2022 school year.
Only 85.6% of kindergarteners were up to date on required vaccines, according to data, continuing an overall downward trend that began a decade ago. The steepest decline happened during the last four years—a 3-percentage point drop since the 2021-2022 school year, when the rate was 88.4%.
“Although the vast majority of families in Oregon are still choosing to protect families through vaccination, the downward trends are deeply concerning,” said Howard Chiou, M.D., PhD., medical director for communicable diseases and immunizations at OHA’s Public Health Division. “We risk seeing the return of diseases such as measles and polio—diseases of the past that once caused widespread harm but are entirely preventable with vaccines.”
The vaccine with the highest rate of kindergarten nonmedical exemptions is the second dose of the measles vaccine (MMR) at 9.4%, up from 4.9% 10 years ago, a 92% jump. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world, and the best way to prevent infection is to get vaccinated.
The vaccine with the second highest rate of kindergarten nonmedical exemptions is the DTaP vaccine, which protects against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough). Pertussis rates in Oregon hit a 75-year high in 2025—1,475 cases.
Pertussis and measles cases have also risen to record highs in the past year nationally.
K-12 students
While the majority of K-12 students statewide, 90.2%, is up to date on required vaccinations, pockets of risk remain in individual schools. These pockets of risk at schools exist in all 36 counties in Oregon.
“Even when overall vaccination rates are high at the state or county level, that can sometimes hide significant risk at an individual school, so parents should not assume their local schools will also be well protected,” Chiou said. “We encourage families to look at the immunization rates for their child’s school to better understand personal and community risks.”
According to the 93% vaccination rate to achieve herd immunity.
Currently, more than one in three (36%) Oregon schools with 10 or more students in grades K-12 report MMR vaccination rates under 93% and are therefore at high risk of a measles outbreak.
Parents and caregivers can see vaccination rates for individual schools on OHA’s School Immunization Data dashboard.
Howard Chiou, M.D., Ph.D., OHA Medical Director for Communicable Diseases and Immunizations
Here are videos about
- What’s happening? (mp4, 1 minute, 17 seconds)
- What are some of the effects of low vaccination rates? (mp4, 1 minute, 36 seconds)
- What are your concerns about these high exemption rates and low vaccination rates? (mp4, 29 seconds)
- What would you want parents and guardians to know if they have questions or concerns about vaccines, and why they’re important? (mp4, 1 minute, 42 seconds)
- Anything else families can do? (mp4, 45 seconds)
