13% of Minnesota, Wisconsin kindergartners didn't get standard vaccinations, CDC data shows

This year, your kid may be more likely to catch a back-to-school bug, as fewer students are getting their shots than at any time in the past decade.

New data from the Centers for Disease Control shows 13% of kindergartners in Minnesota and Wisconsin did not get standard childhood vaccines like the measles, mumps and rubella shot. That's nearly double the number from 2016.

"It makes me really worried for my patients and the community because we are in a pivotal point where we have measles in our neighboring state in Wisconsin. And measles doesn't obey our state borders or our national borders. That makes me very worried about the illness we're going to see in our community," said Dr. Anna Mills, a pediatrician with M Health Fairview. 

A mother to three herself, Mills says she knows shots are not fun, but says the temporary pain has a clear purpose.

"I have vaccinated my own children and stand behind what vaccines can do for our community and my own children. It's one of the best decisions that I think a family can make," she said.

But numbers keep showing fewer guardians are making that decision. 

Over the last decade in Wisconsin, vaccinations in kindergartners are down 8%, which Mills says is troubling for herd immunity. In Minnesota, it's down 7%.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, those Minnesota numbers took a noticeable plunge.

"There's multiple people saying, you know, I wouldn't do it again. I wouldn't do the COVID vaccine again," said Mills.

She added that the vaccine technology is different for COVID than some of the other typical childhood vaccinations, but the measles vaccine has been available since the 1950s. 

"So what I would say is we certainly want families to have conversations with their healthcare providers to understand what's best for them. And if you're concerned about one vaccine, have a conversation with your healthcare provider, but not all vaccines are the same," Mills said.

Mills says if your child is vaccinated, there's a small chance they would contract something like measles, but if they did she says they would likely have a light case.