NEW JERSEY— This September, New Jersey children are entering school with lower vaccination coverage than they did several years ago, according to the latest state data show.
During the 2024-2025 school year, statewide compliance fell to 91.3 percent, the lowest level in the eight years of available data.
16 of the state's 21 counties saw a steady decline: Ocean County's rate fell to 83.2 percent, while some counties remained in the mid-90s.
In the 2017-2018 school year, Ocean's rate was 94 percent.
The latest state figures measure whether students met their age-appropriate immunization requirements. They include students across grades and school types, rather than focusing on a single vaccine or grade.
For measles, public health officials generally use 95 percent vaccination coverage as the level needed to maintain community protection.
No New Jersey county in the data reached that level.
No.
New Jersey's childhood vaccine requirements remain in effect despite President Trump's Aug. 10 executive order on federal vaccine policy.
The New Jersey Department of Health said the order does not change state law or the immunization schedule used by New Jersey families, schools and health care providers.
"Families deserve clear, science-based guidance, not confusion," Health Commissioner Dr. Raynard E. Washington said in a statement.
New Jersey officials continue to recommend that children receive vaccines on schedule and have directed families to consult their pediatricians or other health care providers with questions.
The state's school requirements specify which vaccinations children need to attend school.
The current state guidance includes requirements for vaccines against diseases including measles, mumps, rubella, polio, hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis and chickenpox.
One factor in the decline is the rise in religious exemptions, which increased from 2.4 percent of students in 2017-2018 to 5 percent in 2024-2025, according to state data.
New Jersey allows exemptions from some school vaccination requirements for medical and religious reasons.
During 2024-2025, eight counties reported nonmedical exemption rates above 5 percent among public school students, with one exceeding 10 percent.
Among non-public schools, 15 counties exceeded 5 percent, and two exceeded 15 percent.
Trump's Aug. 10 executive order directed federal health officials to revise the nation's childhood vaccine recommendations.
The order calls for fewer vaccines to be recommended routinely for all children and promotes a more individualized approach to some vaccines.
Trump also called for separating the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine into individual shots administered during separate visits.
The changes have put federal recommendations at odds with the approach New Jersey officials have chosen to follow.
New Jersey has instead tied its vaccination requirements to recommendations from medical organizations rather than allowing federal policy changes alone to determine state school requirements.
The state has joined the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, a regional partnership that includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, along with New York City.
The collaborative supports the 2026 childhood and adolescent immunization schedules issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
"These schedules reflect the current scientific evidence on vaccine safety and effectiveness and are based on the specific disease risks and healthcare delivery context in the U.S.," the collaborative wrote.
The group also warned that weakening confidence in the MMR vaccine could have consequences during a period of increased measles activity.
The state data offer a county-by-county look at how many students meet immunization requirements.
The figures are from the 2024-2025 school year and cover all grades surveyed and all school types.
Source: New Jersey Department of Health, Annual Immunization Status Report, 2024-2025.
The state has pledged to maintain access to vaccines and provide information to parents, schools, health care providers and local health departments.
"The claim that they cause autism has been studied exhaustively and disproven," the state Department of Health said. "Reviving it does not help families; it draws attention away from the work of keeping children healthy."
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