This leaves both vaccinated and unvaccinated children vulnerable to disease outbreaks including measles, experts say.
They depend on those around them to protect them," Dr. Paul Offit, a virologist and vaccine advocate, told ABC News.
ABC News spoke with Offit and other doctors who work in infectious diseases and immunization research to explore what's driving these trends and understand what the future may hold if immunization exemptions keep rising.
These legislative efforts largely prevented many statewide COVID-19 vaccine mandates, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy.
In July 2021, pushback against COVID-19 vaccines started to spill over to routine childhood immunizations in Tennessee.
"For all these diseases, there's reasons that a lot of effort was made to develop these vaccines and deliver the vaccine.
Doctors also point out that a rate of 3% of immunizations exemptions still means 97% of kids in school are getting vaccines on time. »
