Oklahoma Health Leaderโค Warns of Rising Disease Risk Amid CDC Turmoil & Declining Vaccination Rates
OKLAHOMAโข CITY – an Oklahoma public health expertโฃ is sounding the alarm aboutโ a โpotential increase in preventable diseases, including โmeasles, as uncertainty surrounds recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and vaccination โrates continue โto declineโ nationwide and within the state. dr. Dale โคBratzler, dean of the Hudson College of Public Health atโ the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences, testified before a recent Senate hearing regarding the impact of internal changes at the CDC on public health initiatives.
Bratzler explained that the CDC director โฃnow must personally โendorse all recommendations before theyโ become official, โฃa process that has contributed to a climate ofโ uncertainty. This has prompted medical groups,including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College โคof Physicians,to begin developing their own vaccination schedules – โขcreating “competing recommendations,” according to Bratzler.
“That could limit the ability for some people to get โขvaccines,”โ he warned, noting that many states, like Oklahoma, rely on โคCDC guidance for vaccination โขschedules andโ some insurance โproviders only cover CDC-recommended vaccines.
Data reveals a concerning trend in Oklahoma. As ofโค Septemberโ 9,2025,the โstate has reported 17 confirmed measles cases as part of a national outbreak totalingโ 1,454 cases – the highest number in 30โ years. Nationwide, 12% of measles โฃcases have required hospitalization, with three confirmed deaths. The largest โpercentage (38%) of thoseโ infected with measles are between the ages of 5 andโ 19.
vaccination coverage among kindergartners in the U.S. decreased across all reported vaccines during the 2024-25 school year, ranging โขfrom 92.1% for DTaP to 92.5% forโ MMRโค and polio. Approximately โ286,000 kindergartners attended school without documented completion of the MMRโ vaccine series.
Oklahoma’s MMR vaccination rate for school-aged children currently stands at 88.7%, placing it among โthe 14 states below the 95% threshold needed for herd โคimmunity โagainst measles. Polio vaccination rates are also dropping, currently at 90%.
“Populations don’t remember what it โwas like when kids used to get thes diseases,” Bratzler said, suggesting a lackโข of lived experience with these illnesses may contributeโฃ to declining vaccinationโ rates.
Bratzler anticipates an increase in cases of measles, whooping cough, and hepatitisโ B in children nextโฃ year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
