The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reducing funding to states for child vaccination programs, according to an agency email obtained by KFF Health News.
The reduction comes from a federal immunization grant — totaling about $680 million in the latest year — that supports vaccination programs for children, according to the Association of Immunization Managers. Agency officials linked the reduction to the debt ceiling deal recently struck by the Biden administration and Congress. The cut may result in less complete reporting on vaccinations, the CDC said.
The targeted cut will affect programs that identify communities vulnerable to disease outbreaks, said Hannan. This information is used to prevent and manage outbreaks, Hannan added. The budget cut comes as the number of children getting vaccinated dropped amid the covid pandemic. During the 2021-22 school year, approximately 93% of kindergartners nationwide received each of the MMR , DTaP , polio, and varicella vaccines. That was down from 94% during the 2020-21 school year and 95% coverage during 2019-20.