Trying to add a payment method? You can do this on the 
QuickTake:
The parents of Lane County kindergartners are opting out of vaccinating their children in record high numbers, which is weakening community immunity and raising the risk of outbreaks like measles. Across Oregon, the trend is the same.
The Oregon Health Authority on Thursday announced the highest rate of nonmedical vaccine exemptions ever recorded among kindergartners in the state.
A nonmedical vaccine exemption comes when parents opt their children out of required vaccinations for cultural, political, or religious reasons.
New data from the authority’s public health division shows that 9.7% of kindergartners claimed a nonmedical exemption for the 2024–25 school year. In Lane County, the exemption rate is at 8.3%, also a record.
This exemption rate covers an array of parents opting out of any required vaccines for students to attend school, including those for hepatitis and measles. Dr. Paul Cieslak, the health authority’s medical director for immunizations, said the rising exemption rates are a serious concern.
“The increase in nonmedical exemptions weakens community immunity, creating opportunities for outbreaks of serious diseases that vaccines have nearly eradicated,” Cieslak said in a press release.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 1,001 measles cases in the United States so far this year, most among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
If measles were to reach Lane County, unvaccinated young children would be most at risk.
Currently, 90% of children ages 19 months through 5 years in Lane County are up to date on their first measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine — short of the 95% coverage needed for herd immunity, the threshold that helps prevent outbreaks from spreading.
While kindergartners in Lane County are nearly at 95% for their first round, they are at 92% for their second.
