The percentage of kindergarten students in Missouri vaccinated against diseases like measles and whooping cough is dropping each year as more parents turn in non-medical exemptions prior to their child’s first day of school.

Only 90% of Missouri kindergarten students were immunized against measles, mumps and rubella last year, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services . That’s down from 94.6% five years prior.

Some areas of the state are far below what health officials say is necessary to be protected from measles, as some Missouri counties have rates nearing 75%.

According to the CDC and World Health Organization, a community needs a vaccination rate of at least 95% to be adequately protected from measles outbreaks.

“We are sweating,” Dr. Laura Morris, a p

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