By Deidre McPhillips, CNN

(CNN) — A record share of US kindergartners had an exemption for a required vaccination last school year, and coverage for all reported vaccines – including the measles vaccine – was lower than the year before, according to new data published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 3.6% of incoming kindergartners in the 2024-25 school year had an exemption for a required vaccine, leaving about 138,000 new schoolchildren without full coverage for at least one state-mandated vaccine, the new data shows. Exemptions jumped more than a full percentage point over the past four years, the CDC data shows, and the vast majority – all but 0.2% – were for non-medical reasons.

About 286,000 kindergartners had not completed the measles-mumps-

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