Department of Health: New school immunization data shows childhood vaccination rates remain flat

Photo courtesy DOH

On-time immunization throughout childhood helps protect from diseases

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has updated their school immunization data dashboard to include data from the 2021-2022 school year. 

The newest data included show that the vaccination rates have remained flat.

“Vaccines remain the single most important public health strategy for keeping communities safe from many communicable diseases that can lead to disability and death,” says Jamilia Sherls-Jones, Director of the Office of Immunization. 

DOH recommends families and health care providers focus on getting children up to date on their vaccinations as soon as possible.

The new school immunization data from the 2021-2022 school year provide several key points, including:Washington state’s K-12 immunization completion rate for the 2021-2022 school year was 91.7%. This rate has remained steady for the last two years.

After the implementation of House Bill 1638 in 2019, kindergartener vaccination rates for MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) rose from 90.8% in the 2019-2020 school year to 94.4% in the 2020-2021 school year.

The data show the number of students with at least one personal vaccine exemption is going down, while the number of students with at least one religious membership exemption is going up.

Read more about school and child care immunization requirements in Washington.