While Mississippi may be at the bottom of many lists, the state boasts one of the highest childhood vaccination rates in the country. Last year, for the 2013-2014 school year, 99.7% of Mississippi’s 45,000 kindergarteners entered school with all of their required vaccines, according to statistics released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Mississippi is one of two states — the other being West Virginia — that does not allow religious or philosophical exemptions from required vaccines.
Oxford parents and doctors discuss the importance of childhood vaccinations.