Pennsylvania launches school vaccine-rate tool

Pennsylvania has put school-by-school vaccination data online for the first time, giving parents a way to check immunization rates at individual schools rather than relying only on county or statewide totals. The Pennsylvania Department of Health said the interactive tool was launched with 2025-2026 school-year data and was built with the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The department said the change is meant to give families a clearer view of vaccination coverage in their children’s classrooms. The public-facing site began with data from schools that report immunization information each year to the state. ### When did Pennsylvania put the new lookup tool online? August 3 was the launch date given in a Pennsylvania Department of Health news release announcing the new interactive tool. The department said the site makes annual vaccination rates at individual schools available online “for the first time ever” and ties the rollout to Governor Josh Shapiro’s Executive Order 2025-02 on vaccine access and information. (pa.gov) The Health Department’s immunization-rates page says the school-level tool begins with the 2025-2026 school year. Before that, the department said it had historically posted county- and state-level data on the site each year. ### What can parents actually see in the data? The Pennsylvania school immunization rates tool shows self-reported data from schools that had at least one student enrolled in kindergarten, 7th grade, 12th grade, or corresponding home-school categories. (pa.gov) The state’s data table includes each school’s county, the number of students enrolled in the reported grades, and percentages for vaccine coverage across multiple diseases. (pa.gov) July 31 is the publication date listed on the underlying school immunization rates table. The state says the columns include coverage percentages for vaccines tied to nine vaccine-preventable diseases, along with rates for medical, religious and philosophical exemptions, provisional enrollment, denied admission and students listed as noncompliant and attending. (pa.gov) ### Which schools are included — and which are missing? Pennsylvania says a school may be absent from the tool for two main reasons. The Health Department’s website says missing schools either did not report any students enrolled in the identified grades or did not submit an immunization report for the 2025-2026 school year. Home-school data are folded into the rates of the school a student would attend if not home educated, according to the state’s methodology note. (pa.gov) That means the tool is organized around schools that report the required grade-level enrollment categories rather than a separate home-school listing alone. (pa.gov) ### What do the first statewide numbers show? Pennsylvania officials said the online tool is backed by data from more than 90% of schools statewide. In the launch announcement, the department said more than half of reporting schools have a kindergarten measles, mumps and rubella vaccination rate at or above 95%, the threshold public health experts cite for community immunity. (pa.gov) The statewide survey summary posted by the department shows kindergarten MMR coverage at 93.2%, 7th-grade MMR coverage at 94.6% and 12th-grade MMR coverage at 96.9% for 2025-2026 totals that include home-school counts. The same summary shows kindergarten religious exemptions at 2.2%, 7th-grade religious exemptions at 3.6% and 12th-grade religious exemptions at 2.6%. (pa.gov) ### What did state officials say about the goal? Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen said in the state release that “Knowledge is power” and said parents deserve “clear, accessible data” about their children’s schools. Bogen said the tool is intended to put information directly in the hands of families and local leaders as they try to reduce the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases including measles and whooping cough. (pa.gov) Education Secretary Dr. Carrie Rowe said the administration also wants the reporting process to be manageable for schools. The state said the tool is part of its broader vaccine-information resources hosted through the Health Department. ### Where do families go next? The Pennsylvania Department of Health says the lookup tool is available now on its School Immunization Rates page, alongside downloadable 2025-2026 survey summaries in PDF and Excel formats. (pa.gov) Schools will continue filing annual immunization reports each December through the state’s School Immunization Law Report system, according to the department’s website. (pa.gov)