Only 85.6% of Oregon kindergarteners were up to date on required vaccines during the 2025-26 school year, a record low that falls well short of the 93% threshold public health officials say prevents measles outbreaks. For Hillsboro School District families with children starting school Tuesday, Sept. 8, the numbers carry a concrete consequence: students who cannot show proof of immunization or a valid exemption will be excluded from class.

The data, reported by the Portland Tribune on Thursday, Aug. 13, shows nonmedical exemptions among Oregon kindergarteners climbed to nearly 11% in 2025-26. Washington County fared better than the state average, with a 6.1% nonmedical exemption rate that ranked it third-most-vaccinated county in Oregon, according to the Forest Grove News-Times.

The decline comes as Oregon recorded 45 confirmed measles cases since January, surpassing the state's previous peak of 31 cases in all of 2024. The Oregon Health Authority has detected measles in Washington County wastewater since Aug. 1, meaning at least one infected person was recently in the area.

Nearly half of the 2,465 U.S. measles cases reported as of Aug. 6 occurred in children and teens ages 5 to 19.

"It is more than likely that come this fall, we will officially lose our measles elimination status as a country," Dr. Dean Sidelinger, Oregon's state health officer and epidemiologist, told the Portland Tribune.

Federal vaccine policy changes

The vaccination decline has accelerated alongside federal policy changes. On Tuesday, Aug. 11, President Trump signed an executive order recommending that the combined MMR vaccine be separated into three individual shots and that all childhood immunizations be given at separate appointments. During the signing, Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested vaccines could be linked to autism, a claim contradicted by decades of research.

In summer 2025, Kennedy overhauled the CDC's vaccine advisory committee. Six months later, the agency scaled back recommendations for several childhood vaccines, limiting them to high-risk children only.

What HSD families need to know

Oregon law requires two doses of the MMR vaccine for students entering kindergarten through sixth grade. School administrators must exclude students who lack proof of immunization or a valid exemption on the first day of school. Any unvaccinated student exposed to measles faces a mandatory 21-day exclusion from school, childcare and healthcare settings.

As we reported Aug. 14, the two-dose MMR series requires shots spaced at least 28 days apart, meaning families starting from scratch have likely missed the window to complete both doses before Sept. 8. A single dose still provides 95% protection; a second dose boosts that to 97% for life.

The Hillsboro Pediatric Clinic is offering in-home vaccine visits through June 2027 under a grant from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Spanish-speaking providers are available, and care is provided regardless of insurance. Families can call 503-640-2757.

Parents can look up vaccination rates for individual schools on the Oregon Health Authority's school immunization rates page.