Where and why are kids not being vaccinated for measles in Knoxville?

• Anti-vaxxers or lack of access?
• Lower rates and bigger impacts
• List of county and school vax rates

Five measles cases have been reported in East Tennessee, and unvaccinated children are at greater risk for contracting the infectious disease.

In parts of Knox County and East Tennessee, vaccination rates among children are lower than those in the rest of the state.

Public and private schools across the state track the vaccination statuses of kindergarten students each year, with about 95.2 percent of kindergarten students who started school in 2017 having received all of their state-required vaccinations.

Knox County as a whole had a vaccination rate of 95.6 percent among last year’s kindergartners in public and private schools. But several schools fell well below that average, including Sunnyview, Mt. Olive, Bonny Kate and Sarah Moore Greene elementary schools.

Lack of access more common obstacle than anti-vax philosophy

Knox County Health Department spokesperson Katharine Killen said lack of access to vaccinations is a more frequent barrier than personal opposition and the health department works to make sure that anyone who comes in wanting a necessary vaccine can get one.

More:State confirms fourth East Tennessee measles case, all related to original case

“It’s our understanding that the majority of people who do not vaccinate their children do so because it’s an access issue or a time issue,” Killen said. “It’s not because they’re adamantly opposed to vaccination. That’s a much smaller population than what social media or the internet would have you believe.”

Temporary certificates, which indicate that students are in the process of getting their vaccines but haven’t completed all requirements, were more common in kindergartners across the state than religious or medical exemptions. Seventy-seven kindergarten students, or 1.7 percent, claimed religious exemptions from the state’s vaccination’s requirements last year in Knox County.

Students with religious exemptions make up the largest group lacking complete vaccination records among last year’s kindergartners in Knox County, accounting for 41.4 percent of students who hadn’t completed the required vaccine regimen.

Tennessee measles outbreak: What you should know

Danielle Kaller, a mother whose 2-year-old son is immunosuppressed, said she opposes the idea of mandatory vaccination, even with medical exemptions, and that fears that unvaccinated kids could spread diseases were overblown.

“It’s just a bunch of people trying to force something on people that they shouldn’t. Saying that their children are not protected against an unvaccinated child is like saying the mother is hiding the disease in a cave somewhere waiting to unleash it on the world,” Kaller said.

Small declines have major impacts

In East Tennessee, Fentress and Union counties had among the lowest county-wide immunization rates at 86.2 and 89.3 percent respectively, with Anderson County at 95 percent, Blount County at 94.8 percent and Sevier County at 95.1 percent.

While the difference between 95.6 percent and 86.2 percent may not seem dramatic, the aggressive way diseases spread means that even a minor dip in vaccination rates can create a vastly different scenario for disease transmission.

Knox County Health Department Director Martha Buchanan explained that herd immunity relies on a high threshold for vaccination rates and can make all the difference in how many people become infected.

More:Learn about online health misinformation from the Knox County Health Department

“We have to have a certain threshold of vaccination in our community in order to achieve the community benefit of vaccination, that herd immunity as we call it,” Buchanan said. “The community benefit of vaccination is that if enough people are vaccinated, but I can’t be or I choose not to be, if I get sick and I come in contact with someone who is vaccinated, they don’t get sick and continue the chain of infection. They stop it.”

Need an MMR shot? Here's where to get it

The measles-mumps-rubella, or MMR shot, is widely available at doctor's offices and health departments, and Tennessee health departments will now give that vaccination free to uninsured, unvaccinated adults.

A federal program already covered uninsured children, and under the Affordable Care Act, health insurers must cover the vaccine as "preventive care."

To make an appointment at Knox County Health Department, call 865-215-5070.

Follow Andrew Capps for breaking news and updates on Twitter. Find more at bit.ly/jandrewcapps.

2017-2018 Kindergarten Vaccination Rates by School/County

Knox County (public & private) — 95.6%

Anderson County (public & private)— 95%

Blount County (public & private) — 94.8%

Loudon County — 97.4%

Sevier County — 95.1%

Jefferson County — 97.4%

Granger County — 97.9%

Union County — 89.3%

Knox County Elementary Schools (Public)

A. L. Lotts — 93.8%

Adrian Burnett — 93.8%

Amherst — 94.7%

Ball Camp — 99%

Bearden — 96.3%

Beaumont — 97.1%

Blue Grass — 98%

Bonny Kate — 92.1%

Brickey McCloud — 97.5%

Carter — 96.9%

Cedar Bluff — 93.6%

Copper Ridge — 95.8%

Corryton — 100%

Dogwood — 97.8%

East Knox — 97.3%

Emerald Academy — 98.4%

Farragut Primary — 94.8%

Fountain City — 96.8%

Gap Creek — 76.9%

Gibbs — 97.1%

Green Magnet — 100%

Halls — 97.5%

Hardin Valley —96.1%

Inskip — 95.5%

Karns — 96.3%

Londsale — 97.3%

Maynard — 96.3%

Mooreland Heights — 95.6%

Mt. Olive — 95.5%

New Hopewell — 95.2%

Northshore — 97.6%

Pleasant Ridge — 93.8%

Pond Gap — 95.2%

Powell — 94.5%

Ritta — 95.5%

Rocky Hill — 97.8%

Sarah Moore Greene — 90.9%

Sequoyah —96.4%

Shannondale — 98.4%

South Knox — 100%

Spring Hill — 94.8%

Sterchi — 93.8%

Sunnyview — 91.5%

West Haven — 98%

West Hills — 94.5%

West View — 100%

Knox County Elementary Schools (Private)

Christian Academy of Knoxville — 100%

Concord Christian School — 90.3%

Episcopal School of Knoxville — 100%

First Baptist Academy — 91.1%

Garden Montessori School — 72.7%

Grace Christian Academy — 90.7%

Sacred Heart Cathedral School — 91.1%

St. John Neumann Catholic School — 93.3%

St. Joseph Catholic School — 100%

Tate’s School of Discovery — 93.3%

Temple Baptist Academy — 85.7%

UT Early Learning Center — 72.7%

Webb School of Knoxville — 100%

Find your child’s school online at the Tennessee Department of Health.