Southeast Alaska families are doing a slightly better job of keeping up with their children’s vaccinations than other parts of the state. According to the fourth-quarter 2025 report from the Alaska Department of Health, Southeast is one percentage point better than the statewide average for early childhood immunization rates and three percentage points better for the full kindergarten-age series of shots.

The statewide average is in the mid-50% range for children ages 19 to 35 months who have received the full series of vaccinations against seven diseases, though the rate is significantly higher for individual immunizations such as polio and hepatitis B.

The Interior and Matanuska-Susitna Borough had among the lowest rates for the early childhood and kindergarten vaccinations series, in the 40% range, according to the state report.

Wrangell is showing strong numbers when looking at a grouping that includes kindergartens through sixth graders.

“At this time, 76% of our kindergarten through sixth grade students are fully vaccinated, and 13% have approved religious exemptions,” said Evergreen Elementary Principal Cathy Winn.

“Of the remaining 11%, many are only missing one or a few required vaccines, and some records may already be updated but not yet reported to the school,” she said last month.

Overall, Alaska is below the national average for children’s vaccinations. Nationwide, close to 67% of children by age 2 had received the full series of seven childhood immunizations, according to the 2025 report from America’s Health Rankings, a nonprofit effort backed by United Health, an insurance company.

The national vaccination average for measles, one of the most contagious diseases for children, is in the low 90%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Alaska, the rate was 75% as of May 2025 for kindergarten-aged children who had completed the recommended two-dose measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine series, according to the state Department of Health.

State law and Wrangell school district policy requires children to be fully immunized before they ever step into a classroom, or their parents must submit a signed waiver excusing them from the requirement on medical or religious grounds.

The required immunizations include protection against diseases like polio, hepatitis and measles.

While older students may not need certain shots, such as the one for whooping cough after age 6 or rubella after age 12, most children must show proof of their vaccinations to enroll. Families that claim exemptions need to update their paperwork every year to stay valid.

State health officials are worried about a downward trend. According to a June 2025 report from the state Department of Health, Alaska’s rates for childhood vaccinations are well below the national average, and the percentage of kindergarteners who had received all recommended vaccines was the lowest last year since at least 2017.

According to information provided by Department of Health in its fourth-quarter 2025 report, 57% of children aged 19 to 35 months in Southeast have finished their full primary vaccine series, while the average for the state is slightly lower at 56%.

At kindergarten age, the report showed that 52% of Alaska children had received all of the recommended immunizations; the rate in Southeast was 55%.

Kindergarten vaccination rates in Alaska are the second-lowest among 48 states reporting data, with rates decreasing nationwide due to increasing exemptions and misinformation, according to reports and data published by the nationwide States Newsroom publication Stateline.

Non-medical exemptions in Alaska rose — mostly religious exemptions — to 9% for 2024-25, up from 6.6% in 2018-19.

Health experts are especially focused on the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. Measles is a very contagious respiratory virus that can lead to serious illness or death, and symptoms usually show up about one to two weeks after a person gets infected.

Public health experts are increasingly concerned as measles cases have seen a sharp national increase. According to the CDC, there were 2,281 confirmed cases in 2025, and nearly 1,000 additional cases were reported in just the first two months of 2026. This surge coincides with national MMR vaccination rates among kindergarteners dropping to approximately 92.5%, which is below the threshold required for community immunity.

According to the state Department of Health, last year only 76% of Alaska’s kindergarteners had completed the full two-dose MMR series. In Southeast, that number was higher at 83% in the fourth-quarter 2025 report.

The state is also falling behind on other important shots for young children, including those for polio and chickenpox.