Fewer kids in Wisconsin are vaccinated against measles than they were in 2013, and children in the state now have the second-worst vaccination rate for the disease in the United States. Meanwhile, a Texas-centered measles outbreak has grown to more than 100 cases. In 2023, the most recent year with available data, 81.6 percent of Wisconsin’s 2-year-olds had at least one dose of the measles vaccine, according to the Department of Health Services. That’s down from 88.2 percent in 2013. The authority estimates 84.8 percent of Wisconsin’s kindergartners had both doses in the 2023-24 school year. Only Alaska ranked lower. The percentage of 5- and 6-year-olds with both shots varies widely across Wisconsin’s counties. Fond du Lac County Public Health Officer Kim Mueller says Fond du Lac County is one of four Wisconsin counties that registered slight increases in 2-year-olds’ measles vaccination rates in the 10-year DHS data. Meanwhile, in two Wisconsin counties, less than half of kindergarten-aged children had both recommended measles shots in 2023 — Vernon County came in at 48 percent and Clark County at 46 percent. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the federal public health authority, recommends a 95 percent community vaccination rate to prevent measles outbreaks. Public health guidelines call for kids to get a vaccine after their first birthday, and another around age 5.
