OLYMPIA, Wash. — Nearly nine of 10 Washington kindergarteners are fully immunized for back-to-school, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
As of November of last year, just over 86% of kindergartners had all required immunizations to start school, which is about the same as the past three years, according to the state's annual report.
Data for school immunizations were released later than normal this year as the department transitioned the data into new visualization software for easier use by the public.
The general public can now see immunization rates by county, school district, and school building. The latest data are found on the department of health’s website.
Parents and guardians can access their child’s immunization records at home by signing up for MyIR. Washington provides vaccines at no cost for all kids up to age 19 through the state’s Childhood Vaccine Program.
In 2019, there were about 1,234 cases of the measles in the United States, with most of the outbreaks happening in New York State.
There were about 86 cases of the measles in Washington this year, and 12 of those were reported in King County.
Earlier this year in response to the outbreaks, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a piece of legislation that went into effect on July 28 that stated parents could no longer cite personal or philosophical reasons as the basis for not vaccinating their child against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) before sending them to a school or licensed daycare.
This year, about 5% of Washington kindergartners had a waiver from immunizations on file for medical, personal, or religious reasons, the state said.
Also see | Commonly asked questions about measles
