By Seth Effron
As students across North Carolina and the Border Belt start a new school year, more children are heading into classrooms without having the required vaccinations that effectively stop the spread of preventable diseases.
Since 2020, the number of unvaccinated kindergarten students in Bladen, Columbus, Robeson and Scotland counties with religious exemptions jumped from two to 28, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Columbus County saw the biggest increase in the region, with 11 last year.
Statewide, the number has more than doubled over the same period, from 1,508 to 3,686.
Upon entering kindergarten, children are required to have received vaccines against polio; measles, mumps and rubella (MMR); diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough); meningitis; hepatitis B; and chickenpox. Other immunizations, such as flu vaccines, are recommended.
