Investigation: Big drop in MMR vaccinations at area schools

Recent measles outbreaks and deaths across the country led the Investigative Team to revisit vaccination rates at area schools. Our analysis of data submitted by schools to the Pennsylvania Department of Health found a major drop in measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination since we first looked at these rates in 2019.

Public health experts say a vaccination rate of 95% or higher prevents the spread of measles within a community. Most schools across Pennsylvania are still above that "herd immunity" threshold, according to our analysis of kindergarten, 7th grade and 12th grade MMR vaccination status.

But we found that the number of schools below this immunization level -- about a quarter of schools statewide -- nearly doubled over the last five years. These low MMR rates could be alarming to some parents, especially those with children who can't be vaccinated for medical reasons and must rely on herd immunity for protection.

You can find your school's measles vaccination rate in the interactive map below. Schools above the herd immunity threshold are shown in green, while schools below it are shown in red. The size of each school's student body is reflected in its size on the map.

Pennsylvania is not the only place with declining MMR vaccination rates. Classrooms across the country are experiencing similar shifts.

"We see a lot of families worried about a lot of vaccines," said Dr. Lori Handy, associate director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Measles has been considered eliminated in the United States since 2000, Handy added, but that status is now at risk as vaccination rates drop and cases rise.

Outbreaks in West Texas and New Mexico led to three deaths of unvaccinated children earlier this year.

Nationwide, more than 1,000 people have been infected with measles so far in 2025. Of those, 133 were hospitalized.

When children get sick with measles, Handy said, the outcomes can be devastating.

"They can end up needing IV fluids or having a lung infection, and then in some really scary situations, it can actually infect their brain," she explained. "What we can do with a measles vaccine is prevent any of that from ever happening for kids."

Pennsylvania law requires all schoolchildren to be vaccinated against measles unless they show paperwork documenting an exemption. All schools across the state, including public, private and even cyber schools, must verify that students comply with immunization requirements.

"Vaccines are one of the things that has extended our life expectancy by probably decades. It's one of the best public health achievements we've made," Handy said.

But public discourse on vaccines has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, and skepticism has become more mainstream in the U.S.

Over the last five years, hundreds of Pennsylvania schools saw their MMR vaccination rates fall by at least five percentage points, our data analysis found.

Some Philadelphia classrooms had much larger declines. At Mastery Charter School's Lenfest Campus, the 12th grade MMR vaccination rate dropped by more than half over the last five years, from 99% in the 2018-2019 school year to just 46% in 2023-2024. Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia's 12th grade class and Franklin S. Edmonds School's kindergarten class saw similar declines.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children receive one dose of the MMR vaccine when they are about a year old and a second dose between the ages of four and six. In Pennsylvania, students must receive both doses before entering kindergarten.

Last school year, Pennsylvania's measles vaccination rate for kindergarteners dropped to 94% -- below the herd immunity threshold.

Three schools in Philadelphia's collar counties had less than half of their kindergarten students vaccinated. Indian Valley Kindergarten in Souderton had a 46% MMR vaccination rate, while the Kimberton Waldorf School in Phoenixville had a 43% rate in its kindergarten class. At Chester Upland School of Arts, which had a fully vaccinated kindergarten class in 2019, just a third of kindergarteners were vaccinated against measles last school year.

None of these schools responded to multiple requests for comment by the Investigative Team.

New Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has raised concerns about the testing of vaccines. His appointment has bolstered the voice of anti-vaxxers like Jennifer Buhl, a mother of two in South Philadelphia.

"What I found was in every case, it was much more dangerous to get the vaccine than to roll the dice with the illness," Buhl said.

Buhl believes there is a link between vaccines and autism, though she could not provide scientific or data-driven evidence to back up the claim.

According to Handy, the doctor at CHOP, extensive studies have debunked this myth.

"No matter how you study it, you never see higher rates of autism in children who received the measles vaccine versus children who didn't," Handy said.

Handy and Buhl agree that it's important for parents to be informed about the risks and benefits of all medications, including vaccines.

"There is so much information out there now that's accessible," Buhl noted.

To Handy, the key is where families get information about important healthcare decisions like vaccination. When parents turn to sources other than their healthcare provider, she said, "that makes it very hard to make the right and safe choice for their baby."

Buhl decided against vaccinating her two boys, who are now 10 and 16 years old, against any diseases -- including measles. After reading parenting books and talking with people about their own experiences, she weighed her assessment of the risk of injury from the MMR vaccine with "the likelihood that my child is gonna get measles, and a severe case, and potentially die," she said.

But this equation is changing as more parents refuse vaccines for their children, allowing the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses in schools and driving up the risk that unvaccinated students will contract, and possibly die, from measles.

Buhl declined to share where her sons go to school, but she said she used a philosophical exemption to bypass state vaccination requirements.

An increasing number of Pennsylvania parents are exercising this option, forgoing vaccines for their children based on religious beliefs or strong moral convictions.

Other parents waive their children's vaccinations for medical reasons, like a compromised immune system. While philosophical and religious exemptions have risen dramatically in recent years, medical exemptions -- which require a doctor's signature -- have remained relatively steady statewide.

When more families use exemptions and a school's vaccination rate drops below herd immunity levels, preventable diseases like measles spread in the community, Handy said.

"If we want to all protect our kids, we all need to vaccinate our kids because they're all spending time together," she added.

But for Buhl and a growing group of parents, their opposition to vaccines outweighs any concern about the illnesses they prevent.

"I'm comfortable with my decision because actually even if I got measles or my kids got measles, I'm comfortable that we would recover," Buhl said.

History shows that not everyone recovers from this disease: In the 1990's, Philadelphia saw a major outbreak of measles. Within six months, 486 cases were reported and nine kids died -- all of whom were unvaccinated.

Most of those infected were connected to the Faith Tabernacle Church and its offshoot, First Century Gospel, which rejected vaccines and medical care.

"That was one time where we did have to actually use government levers to go ahead and get that group of children vaccinated, because it was the only way to stop the outbreak spreading throughout the community and the city," Handy said.

Today, Handy added, most Americans have never seen a child with measles because the vaccine has effectively prevented the spread of this disease for decades.

Like Buhl, Handy is also a mother of two. She believes that any parent who has seen measles would decide to vaccinate their children against it.

"What I hope families realize is when you do see this, it's scary," Handy said. "I would never want my children to go through that."