COLUMBUS, Ohio -The rate of Ohio kindergarteners entering school fully vaccinated plunged 4.5% in the past five years, Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said.

In the 2019-2020 school year, 89.9% incoming kindergartners met all vaccine requirements.

In the 2024-2025 school year, the rate decreased to 85.4%.

“That means that thousands fewer incoming kindergarteners are protected from the range of diseases that these vaccines prevent,” Vanderhoff said during a news conference this week.

Studies show vaccines are safe and effective, but Vanderhoff and Dr. Amy Edwards, medical director of pediatric infection control at UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, said that misinformation about vaccines has led parents to decline necessary immunizations for t

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