Thursday, Oct 15, 2026

Is the measles vaccination rate decreasing in SD?

Michael Klinski, South Dakota News Watch

yes

The number of kindergarteners who have received the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in South Dakota has fallen by 6.7 percentage points since the 2019-20 school year.

The Healthy People 2030 target for two doses of MMR is 95% by 2030.

South Dakota (89%) is one of 18 states that have an MMR vaccination rate below 90% for students in kindergarten in 2025-26. The state has reported 11 cases of measles in 2026 compared to 16 cases in 2025. Ten of those cases are people who haven’t received the MMR vaccine. One person was hospitalized.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 6.9% of kindergarteners in South Dakota claimed an exemption from vaccines during the 2025-26 school year, up 4.2 percentage points from 2019-20.

Historically, measles infections can cause 1 to 2 deaths per 1,000 cases.

Pennsylvania reported its sixth measles death this week.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

CDC Measles cases and outbreaks
Kaiser Family Foundation Kindergarten routine vaccination rates continue to decline
NBC News A sixth measles-related death is reported in Pennsylvania
South Dakota Department of Health Measles dashboard

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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by newsrooms in the Gigafact network.

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Is the measles vaccination rate decreasing in SD?

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