Alabama Vaccine Rates Fall Below National Averages as Misinformation Spreads

Alabama’s childhood vaccination rates have fallen below national averages for several critical immunizations, raising concerns among health officials amid ongoing legislative efforts to loosen vaccination requirements across the state.

Data from the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) shows the state trailing national averages for whooping cough and Hepatitis B vaccinations, while measles immunization rates have fluctuated around the 95% threshold experts consider necessary for herd immunity.

The vaccination disparity becomes more pronounced as children age. While approximately 70% of Alabama children aged 4-10 are up to date on vaccines, that figure plummets to just 25% among 11-18 year olds, according to ADPH data. This contrasts with consistently higher national vaccination rates for children in these age groups.

Dr. Norma Mobley, president of the Alabama chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), has witnessed the consequences firsthand. “There were several insurance companies that didn’t even cover routine immunizations,” she said. “We at the AAP level, that was something that they really worked hard toward making sure that all children under insurance policies could receive routine, recommended vaccines.”

Despite a vaccine existing for nearly 30 years, Mobley reports seeing cases of whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory infection. Only 69% of Alabama’s 19-47-month-olds are fully vaccinated against diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTaP), compared to 80.4% nationwide.

Younger parents show increasing hesitation about following recommended vaccination schedules, contributing to resurgences of once-rare diseases. “If you’re going to give them the vaccines, you might as well just do them the way they’re scheduled,” Mobley advised. “You’re still going to poke them the same number of times, whether you do them a week apart or not.”

Social media misinformation has particularly impacted influenza vaccine uptake. “We had a lot of people reading sources saying that there’s a combination of the flu and the COVID vaccine,” Mobley noted. “That’s not true.”

Current ADPH data shows just 6.3% of Alabamians under 18 have received their flu vaccine for the 2025-26 season as of late November, compared to 13.1% for the entire 2024-25 season. Adult vaccination numbers are similarly lagging, with approximately 345,000 adults vaccinated so far—roughly half of last season’s total.

Dr. Wes Stubblefield, district medical officer at ADPH, emphasizes that strong patient-physician relationships are critical to combating misinformation. “We want to make sure that our providers are having conversations with their patients and parents, especially those that have questions about vaccines or have not received vaccines in the past,” he said.

The vaccination challenges come as Alabama legislators push to loosen immunization requirements. Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City, has pre-filed HB 24 for the 2026 legislative session, which would allow parents to exempt their children from school vaccination requirements simply by submitting a written statement citing religious objections, without requiring additional documentation.

A similar bill by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, failed in the 2025 session, but vaccination requirement debates continue to intensify statewide.

Meanwhile, Hepatitis B vaccination rates in Alabama stand at 76% for 19-47-month-olds, significantly below the national rate of 91.4%. This disparity comes as the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recently ended a 35-year recommendation to vaccinate all newborns against Hepatitis B on their day of birth, now recommending vaccination only for infants whose mothers test positive or haven’t been tested.

Measles vaccination presents a more positive picture, with about 95.3% of Alabama kindergarteners vaccinated in the 2024-25 school year, above the 95% herd immunity threshold. However, this represents a fluctuation from the previous year’s 93.8% rate.

Regional disparities remain concerning, particularly in Wiregrass counties like Dale, Henry, and Houston, where vaccination rates significantly lag behind state averages. Only 49% of 19-47-month-olds in Dale County are fully vaccinated, with Henry and Houston counties at 53% and 52% respectively, compared to the statewide average of 65%.

Stubblefield attributes these regional discrepancies partly to healthcare access problems. “We also have some counties in Alabama that have very limited access to vaccinations in general, particularly in the south central and southwest part of the state,” he explained.

As Alabama grapples with these vaccination challenges, medical professionals like Mobley emphasize the ethical imperative to protect children through proper immunization. “We take a vow when we graduate from medical school to do no harm,” she said. “If we know we’re holding back on something that could place that patient at risk, then to me, that’s placing them in harm’s way.”