New data from the CDC is raising red flags about childhood vaccination rates.

It shows immunizations among kindergartners have dropped for the third year in a row, including in New Jersey, where we're at risk of dipping below the threshold needed for herd immunity for certain vaccine-preventable diseases.

It's a trend that has public health experts worried, saying the decline is driven by a mix of vaccine hesitancy and misinformation, even from top health officials.

As U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week announced, the government will slash half a billion dollars from mRNA vaccine research, fueling more debate around parental rights, science, and public safety.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan reports.

Mandates involving childhood vaccinations, especially for measles, can fire up big emotions amongst many families in New Jersey.

In the past, it's galvanized protesters who crowded the statehouse opposing bills that would have killed religious exemptions, a way parents can refuse vaccinations required for Jersey kids starting kindergarten.

It's a parental rights issue.

As a parent, it's my choice to decide with my physician what's best for my children, what gets put in their body.

I'm very careful about their diets, their nutrition, and anything else that they're exposed to.

And it's trending.

With the first day of school not far away, health records show some 7,500 New Jersey kindergartners aren't up to date on their measles shots.

That's a vaccination rate of just 92.8 percent, a statistic that worries health care experts like Dr. Meg Fischer.

A frightening number, because that means that the number of school children who will be immunized against measles is going to drop below that 95 percent needed to protect everyone.

As school nurses, we're very concerned about this.

One of our priorities is to advocate for adequate immunization of our school students.

What's going on?

The CDC reports exemption rates for kindergarten vaccinations in New Jersey keep rising.

They hit 4.7 percent, close to 5,000 kids in the last school year.

That's more than double the 2.2 percent, or about 2,200 kids exempted back in 2020.

There's a rise in religious exemptions, which is directly correlated to the decreasing immunization rates throughout the state.

I don't know.

It's difficult to enforce, because who is going to police that?

I'm sure I'll get crucified for whatever I say, but I think we should have a valid reason for why a kid should not be vaccinated.

Dr. Naveen Mehrotra says New York repealed its religious exemption and reports an almost 98 percent measles vaccination rate.

His practice, My Whole Child Pediatrics, still accepts unvaccinated kids as regular patients, but he warns a growing number of New Jersey pediatricians are refusing.

A lot of the practices out there don't even want to have those kids in their practice, but they're just shutting them out.

And they're saying, if you don't want to vaccinate your kid, we're not going to take care of them.

Dr. Mehrotra explains he's tried to persuade reluctant parents to vaccinate their kids, especially against measles, which is eight times more contagious than COVID.

But he says pro-vaccine arguments often don't overcome parental objections, especially with a vaccine skeptic U.S. health secretary who's balked in Senate hearings at advising families to get measles shots.

What I pledged before this committee when I during my confirmation is that I would tell the truth, that I would have radical transparency.

I'm going to tell the truth about everything we know and we don't know about.

Are you recommending the measles vaccine?

I am not going to just tell people everything is safe and effective if I know there's issues.

Amidst the political drama, the U.S. has reported more than 1,350 measles cases this year and three deaths.

New Jersey's logged six cases so far.

Vaccine hesitancy, fueled in part by misinformation, is a contributing factor, New Jersey's health department said in a statement.

We cannot stress enough the importance of staying up to date on vaccines, especially for children, to keep them in school and learning safely and healthily.

The complications from measles so far exceed the complications from the vaccine that there's no reason this should be contentious.

Measles is a bad disease, she says.

New Jersey's chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics would prefer no non-medical vaccine exemptions, but admits trying to enact that would probably provoke a very unhelpful backlash.

I'm Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.