Even small drops in vaccination rates for US children can lead to disease outbreaks

More than three-quarters of U.S. counties and jurisdictions are experiencing declines in childhood vaccination rates, a trend that began in 2019, according to a September 2025 NBC News–Stanford University investigation. The report also found a “large swath” of the U.S. no longer has the “basic, ground-level immunity” needed to stop the spread of measles.

Dr. David Higgins, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado CU Anschutz Medical Center and a…