Vaccination rates for kindergarteners starting school fell last year, continuing a trend that began during the pandemic.On August 18, 2025, SciLine interviewed Dr. David Higgins, a pediatrician and preventive medicine specialist and a health services researcher who studies vaccines and vaccine hesitancy, at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
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Click for VOSOT script (can be used as-is or modified)
ANCHOR AS SCHOOL STARTS BACK UP… DOCTORS ARE URGING PARENTS TO MAKE SURE THEIR KIDS ARE PROTECTED AGAINST PREVENTABLE DISEASES.
VO NEW C-D-C DATA SHOWS CHILDHOOD VACCINATION RATES ARE DROPPING NATIONWIDE… WITH FEWER YOUNG KIDS GETTING THEIR RECOMMENDED SHOTS LAST SCHOOL YEAR.
FOR EXAMPLE… JUST OVER 92-PERCENT OF KINDERGARTNERS RECEIVED THE M-M-R VACCINE… WHICH PROTECTS AGAINST MEASLES… MUMPS… AND RUBELLA.
THAT’S DOWN FROM THE YEAR BEFORE.
DOCTOR DAVID HIGGINS… A PEDIATRICIAN AND VACCINE RESEARCHER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO ANSCHUTZ MEDICAL CAMPUS… SAYS THE IMPACT GOES BEYOND THE CLASSROOM.
SOT Duration: 0:38 Super: Dr. David Higgins – Pediatrician, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
“So the ultimate consequence of fewer kids being vaccinated is more kids are at risk for an outbreak of these diseases. That means more kids may be harmed and potentially some of these kids seriously harmed. Anytime our vaccination rate in a community drops below the level that’s needed for what we call herd immunity or community immunity, that’s the level at which these diseases cannot spread wildly through the community. Anytime it drops below that level, that is concerning, that we are going to, it’s not a matter of if, but when we are going to see an outbreak of these infectious diseases.”
VO DOCTOR HIGGINS SAYS VACCINES ARE SAFE AND EFFECTIVE… AND ENCOURAGES PARENTS WITH QUESTIONS TO TALK WITH THEIR CHILD’S PEDIATRICIAN.
Raw, full-length interview covers:
Which vaccines are typically required for children to attend school;
Why most states require these vaccines;
How scientists track vaccine safety;
Trends over time in vaccination coverage for kindergarteners;
Rates of non-medical exemptions from vaccine requirements over time;
Reasons for rising vaccine hesitancy among parents;
The consequences of decreasing school vaccination rates, such as the growing risk of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles;
Advice for parents to keep their kids healthy in school; and
Advice for anyone with concerns or questions about vaccine safety.
