Our kids can't afford for us to politicize vaccines | Opinion

Over the next few weeks, millions of young children across America will walk through the schoolhouse doors for their first day of kindergarten. They'll have backpacks on their shoulders, butterflies in their bellies and smiles on their faces.

For most families, it's a day filled with excitement and possibility. It should also be the start of a school year protected by one of public health's greatest achievements: routine childhood vaccination.

As a dad, I love the excitement of the first day of school. As Cleveland's public health director and a physician, I also know how much work goes into making sure children begin the year healthy. Health departments across the country work every day to increase vaccination rates. Yet we are waging an uphill battle without the clear, unwavering federal leadership on vaccine policy that our nation could once count on.

As measles outbreaks continue to emerge in the United States and throughout the world, it is essential that federal health officials rejoin the fight to protect our kids.

As vaccinations drop, measles and polio make a comeback

Cleveland, like many places, has lower vaccination rates than we would like. Only 76% of incoming kindergarteners in Cleveland met Ohio's school immunization requirements for the 2025-26 academic year.

That means nearly 1,000 kids in our city are without protection against diseases like measles, polio and whooping cough.

When I trained as a physician, these diseases were largely confined to textbooks, rather than clinical practice. Today, they are reemerging – not because the science has changed, but because vaccination rates have declined. As memories of these diseases have faded and confidence in vaccines has eroded, communities worldwide are facing outbreaks of illnesses that were once under control.

Cleveland has escaped major disease outbreaks in recent years, but luck is not a strategy. That's why we are committed to making vaccines accessible.

Our department offers free vaccines for children and low-cost vaccines for adults every week throughout the city. Our health care systems run medical clinics at several of our schools that provide services such as vaccines at no cost to students or their families.

Ohio's health department has also been an invaluable partner, providing funding, technical assistance and an online dashboard that helps us track vaccination rates by school.

Missing vaccines isn't always a political statement

The guiding principle behind these efforts is simple: Meet families where they are.

Widespread opposition to vaccines isn't our biggest challenge; less than 2% of kindergartners in Cleveland have nonmedical exemptions from vaccine requirements.

The real problem is that many families are still playing catchup following the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted pediatric care nationwide. Families missed regular checkups, became disconnected from their usual sources of care and fell behind on preventive care.

Just two years ago, only 68% of incoming kindergarteners in Cleveland met school immunization requirements. By bringing preventive care into neighborhoods and schools, we have made encouraging progress.

We'll continue to do everything we can to give all children the healthy start they deserve. Local communities cannot solve this problem on our own, however. Infectious diseases do not stop at school boundaries, city limits or state lines.

The United States has reported more measles cases in the past 18 months than the previous 25 years combined. Hundreds of children have been hospitalized, and two children have died. Those illnesses and deaths were preventable.

National leadership on vaccines used to be a constant in American life

For generations, local health departments like mine and the families we serve never had to wonder whether America's top health leaders supported vaccinations. Until recent years, it wasn't a partisan issue, regardless of which party controlled the White House or Congress.

National leadership on vaccines was one of the few constants we had in American public life. Today, that leadership has largely disappeared.

When national health leaders speak consistently and clearly, they reinforce the work of pediatricians, local health departments and schools. When they don't, every community is left to fight misinformation and rebuild confidence on its own.

On Aug. 28, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District will welcome thousands of new kindergarteners to their classrooms. Teachers, parents, physicians and public health leaders will do everything we can to give our kids the chance to learn, grow and thrive.

We will keep doing our part.

It's time for leaders in Washington to do their part by restoring the clear, consistent leadership on vaccines that communities across America need.

David Margolius, MD, is the director of public health for the Cleveland and chair-elect of the Big Cities Health Coalition.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Our kids can't afford for us to politicize vaccines | Opinion

Reporting by Dr. David Margolius, Opinion contributor / USA TODAY

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This story was originally published August 8, 2026 at 3:02 AM.