Health · Kindergarten protection fallsMeasles Hits 2,777 Cases as Kindergarten Protection Falls Below 95%Aired August 23, 2026 at 1:18 AM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:0027,7770:02measles cases have already been0:03confirmed this year. That tops the0:04entire total for 2025 with weeks of0:07school still ahead and kindergarten0:08protection sits below the level that0:10stops measles from spreading in crowded0:11classrooms, lunchrooms, and buses. Can0:14back-to-school shots close that gap0:15before the virus finds the pockets where0:17coverage is even lower? The count0:19through 20 August stands at 2,7770:21confirmed cases [music] against 2,2890:25for all of last year. That makes 20260:27the highest annual count since measles0:29was declared eliminated in 2000, a0:3135-year high, and the total [music] is0:32still rising. About 94% of0:35outbreak-associated cases are linked to0:36outbreaks that started in 2026, [music]0:39with one compilation citing 2,6140:41outbreak-associated cases,0:43>> [music]0:43>> a signal of sustained transmission, not0:45isolated imports. The climb has been0:47steep from pandemic lows of 13 cases in0:492020 and 49 in 2021 to 2085 [music]0:53in 2024, and the previous peak of 1,2740:56in 2019, then 2,289 [music]0:59in 2025. Now, 2,7771:02through 20 [music] August. 2025 itself1:04had been the highest since elimination.1:062026 has already overtaken it. In a1:08classroom where 92 or 93 of [music] 1001:11kindergarteners have both MMR doses,1:13seven or eight arrive without that1:15protection. [music]1:16Nationally, for the 2024 to 2025 school1:18year, 92.5% got both shots, a record low1:22and 2.5 points below the 95% [music]1:24level cited to keep measles from moving1:26easily between classrooms.1:28Below that [music] threshold, the virus1:30finds chains in indoor crowds.1:31Exemptions for one or more vaccines hit1:33a record 3.6% [music]1:35up from 3.3% the prior year. The rise1:38was driven by non-medical exemptions1:40from [music] 3.1% to 3.6% while medical1:43exemptions held at . [music] When1:45exemptions cluster by school or1:47district, local coverage can be far1:49lower than the national average, [music]1:50creating pockets where measles can1:52spread fast. The warning is timed to1:54August checkups. At NYU Langone Hospital1:57Long Island, 16-year-old Tyson Sanders1:59receives a meningitis ACWY booster that2:02protects against four types of bacteria,2:04the kind of visit pediatricians schedule2:06before school starts. Dr. Oka Catari2:08says vaccines are safe and that2:10hesitancy and misinformation are driving2:12increases in diseases like measles.2:14Doctors are urging students to get2:16vaccinated before return because MMR2:18requires two doses. Protection takes2:20time to build and the record high2:22exemption share means more families2:24arrive at the school year without it2:25than in any prior track year. For the2:27school year now beginning early2:29compilations point to coverage slipping2:31further to about 92.4%2:33and exemptions to about 4.2% but the2:36verified national figure for the last2:38completed year remains 92.5%.2:41Whether the new cohort lifts protection2:43or the upward trend in non-medical2:44exemptions continues will be measured2:46after schools reconvene. The federal4:26>> Like and follow for more stories that4:28matter.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗