The government undermined trust in vaccines during the pandemic

The federal, state, and local government responses to COVID-19 did untold damage to businesses, children’s education, and people’s lives. They also set back children’s health in ways that government officials should have anticipated.

The share of kindergarten children with vaccine exemptions has reached an all-time high, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number ticked up to 3.3% from 3%, which amounts to an additional 80,000 unvaccinated children. Since the start of the pandemic, the share of vaccinated kindergarteners has dropped from 95% to 92.7%. Required kindergarten vaccinations in the United States include chickenpox, measles, mumps, polio, tetanus, and whooping cough.