Local Statistics
Did You Know?
Oregon has the highest percentage of children enrolled in kindergarten who have been exempted from receiving at least one vaccine, and Ashland, Oregon, has the highest rate of exemptions in the state.
For the 2012–2013 school year, Oregon’s kindergarten students had a vaccine exemption rate of 6.4%. Other states with high exemption rates include Illinois and Vermont at 6.1%, and Idaho and Michigan at 5.9%. Alaska, which had the highest rate last year at 7.0% has dropped to 5.6%.
The Ashland, Oregon, exemption rate of 26.4% is much higher than the state average. In fact, of all the school districts in the state, we have the highest number of exemptions.
Now some people may say it’s no big deal; there are still enough kids immunized to keep a vaccine preventable disease at bay. But remember, some children who are immunized will not develop immunity. That means our herd immunity is even less than the numbers tell us. And what the numbers tell us isn’t good.
The graph below shows Ashland, Oregon, vaccine statistics—and how exemptions rates have increased over the last decade.
What does all this tell us? It means that as a community we are not protected against many vaccine preventable diseases.
To achieve herd immunity for pertussis and protect our children, 94% coverage is needed in a school. As you can see below, none of our schools have that level of coverage.
To protect our children against a measles outbreak, 93–95% coverage is needed. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases on earth and can cause children to become very sick.
You can view more statistics from the Ashland School District in the Ashland School District Immunization Rates: Summary of 2013 Post-Intervention Data (PDF).