Utah is second in the nation for kindergarten vaccine exemptions
Aug 4, 2025, 1:28 PM | Updated: 1:29 pm
Cesar Acevedo, left, holds his infant son as a nurse prepares to give him a vaccination that included a polio dose in Dallas, Friday, April 4, 2025. New data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the only state with a higher vaccine exemption rate than Utah is Idaho. (LM Otero, Associated Press)
(LM Otero, Associated Press)
SALT LAKE CITY — New data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the only state with a higher vaccine exemption rate than Utah is Idaho.
And the ranking is cause for concern for Utah health officials.
Rich Lakin is the immunization director for the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. Lakin said that when people request a vaccine exemption, they have the option of saying why.
“They feel vaccines are unsafe,” Lakin said. “They feel the diseases don’t exist anymore and so they don’t get vaccinated anymore, they don’t want to run the risk of a vaccine as compared to the disease.”
Immunizations and school
With school starting this month, Lakin said measles cases could rise dramatically in areas of the state where there are higher numbers of vaccine exemptions.
“Infections starting within a school that has a very high exemption rate could be disastrous,” he said.
He’s encouraging parents who are on the fence about vaccinating their kids to do so.
“Very little harm comes from vaccines,” he said. “The harm from getting the disease itself is a lot more dramatic.”
Contributing: Simone Seikaly
Related reading: Utah health officials report two new cases of measles, statewide total now 9
