Disneyland and Measles: Five Scary Findings About Vaccinations in California

To attend a public or private U.S. elementary school, children must be up to date with the following vaccinations: Polio, Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis, Measels-Mumps-Rubella, Hepatitis B and Varicella. We look at the numbers behind public kindergartens enrollments and the relative immunization statistics. The source of the data is the California Department of Public Health. We focused on public kindergartens, and have aggregated statistics on public vs. private.

Here’s 5 things we found:

• In 22 Californian school districts 50% or more of the children are not up to date with vaccinations. Of these, almost a fourth are located in Humboldt County. Explore this fact here.
• 7.5% of the children in CA public kindergartens are missing the Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis vaccine. Explore this fact here.
• In 8 public school districts more than half of the kindergartners don’t have all mandatory vaccinations because of parents’ personal beliefs. Explore this fact here.
• At Big Sur Charter, 10 out of 13 children (77%) aren’t up to date with vaccinations because of personal beliefs. Explore this fact here.
• Personal beliefs exempt from required vaccinations 6% of grade-K children enrolled in California’s private schools. In public school the number is “only” 3%. Explore this fact here.

You can also use the Silk database we created to build maps of your own districts, cities or counties to see vaccination rates and better visualize where the risks are where you live (if you live in California). For those outside the Golden State, this Silk is a really interesting research tool and a window into where, in a state that is the technology epicenter of the world, children face grave risk from declining herd immunity and exposure to nasty outbreaks.