Doctors warn of rising vaccine exemptions among Georgia students

Doctors worry skepticism is causing vaccination rate drop

Child vaccination rates are dropping around the nation and right here in Georgia. Doctors say they're seeing more families opt out of receiving vaccines. Doctors warn that a story you see online is not evidence or research.

GEORGIA - Students around metro Atlanta are beginning to head back to school, but a disturbing trend is growing.

What we know:

Child vaccination rates are dropping around the nation and right here in Georgia.

Back in the 2019-20 school year, 93.6% of Georgia kindergarten students received the mumps-measles-rubella vaccine. That number dropped to 88.4% in 2023-24.

The state requires several vaccinations for students to enroll, including MMR, tetanus and polio. Students can get medical or religious exemptions. 

What they're saying:

Doctors worry skepticism is getting in the way of science.

Dr. Nicola Chin, a pediatrician with Morehouse Healthcare and Georgia chapter president of the Academy of Pediatrics, said she's seeing more families opt out of receiving vaccines.

"I used to see one, maybe once a week or once every other week. I am seeing more on a daily basis," she said. "It is a red flag."

Dr. Chin says misinformation and disinformation spread rapidly online. "I have different levels of parents that will say there’s poison or they’re seeing that on TikTok. I may have a different parent who may say I don’t want to put that in my child’s body," she said.

Misconceptions can lead to vaccine skepticism. "Do my children really need the vaccine? Is the vaccine going to harm them? Is the vaccine going to cause autism?" said Dr. Cecil Bennett, Medical Director of Newnan Family Medicine.

Dr. Bennett says failure to vaccinate your child can lead to potentially deadly diseases the U.S. got rid of decades ago.

"This threatens the safety of our children, it threatens them getting the complications of measles, which is encephalitis, which is a brain infection. It threatens children getting polio and getting crippled with polio," he said.

School begins next week for Brandice Palmer’s daughter unique, so she has to get her mandatory shots. "We just got the shots before school," Palmer said. "I needed to enroll her."

Palmer says she’s getting her daughter vaccinated to help the students around her.

"I think it’s very important for the health of the community," she said.

Doctors agree that vaccines save lives.

What you can do:

Doctors warn that a story you see online is not evidence or research. You need to trust authorized studies that medical experts have reviewed repeatedly.

If you would like more information on vaccines, head to the Georgia Department of Public Health's website.