School-age vaccination rates in Maine reach record high

By Patty Wight, Maine Public

Vaccination rates among school-aged children in Maine are above 97 percent, according to the latest annual report from the state Center for Disease Control. It’s the second year in a row that Maine has achieved so-called “herd immunity.”

Maine reached that threshold last year when an average rate went above 95 percent. That’s enough protection to make it difficult for an infection to spread among the larger population.

The vaccination rate for Maine children has been increasing ever since a law went into effect in 2021 that eliminated philosophical and religious exemptions for vaccines.

While this year’s average vaccination rate of more than 97 percent is a record high, some counties consistently fall well below the average.

Piscataquis County has the lowest vaccination rate in the state, with just under 92 percent for most required immunizations, and less than 90 percent for the chickenpox vaccine.