As children go back to school for the fall, local and state health officials are sounding the alarm about dropping vaccination rates in western Massachusetts. And they say the federal government’s messaging is only making their job harder.

Western Massachusetts has among the lowest vaccination rates in the state. According to the Department of Public Health , more than 10 percent of kindergartners in Franklin county are entering school without the recommended series of vaccines. Berkshire county is close behind at 9 percent, followed by Hampden county at 6 percent.

So while the state as a whole has a vaccination rate upwards of 95 percent, Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein said that should not be much of a comfort.

“If you just look at the statewide numbers,

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