Ohio Dept. of Health warns about decline in youth vaccinations

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Tuesday morning, the Ohio Department of Health hosted a press conference giving facts about the recent decline in younger children receiving their vaccinations.

Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff with the Ohio Department of Health, says the decline has grown exponentially within the past two years. The decline is among younger children, and the survey focuses on children in kindergarten.

“The downward trend has continued,” Vanderhoff said. “Our 2024-2025 school vaccination rates, now show that the percentage of kindergarteners who are up to date on all recommended vaccines, is 85.4% that’s down from 86.2% in the previous year.”

“This decline is alarming,” Vanderhoff said. “Especially given now that we’ve seen multiple serious outbreaks in the country in recent years.”

Among the top viruses that have become more deadly without a vaccine are: flu, RSV, covid-19 and measles. 85 cases of measles being reported in 2022 just in the state of Ohio.

“Out of the 85 cases, 94% were unvaccinated,” Vanderhoff said.