Across Washington, student vaccination rates have fallen slightly over the past few years, but those statewide figures gloss over some parts that saw pretty big declines --- especially in one southwest Washington school district.

The data showed the Naselle-Grays River Valley School District saw student vaccinations for diseases like tetanus, polio and rubella drop by more than 46%, making it the district with the lowest immunization rate in the state for 2024 to 2025.

But what’s on paper doesn’t tell the whole story. 

Guest:

Lori Ashley, clinical manager for the Pacific County Department of Health and Human Services.

Related stories: 
K-12 vaccination rates in WA dropped again | The Seattle Times
R.F.K. Jr. Cancels mRNA Vaccine Research | The New York Times

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes.

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Across Washington, student vaccination rates have fallen slightly over the past few years, but those statewide figures gloss over some parts that saw pretty big declines --- especially in one southwest Washington school district.
The data showed the Naselle-Grays River Valley School District saw student vaccinations for diseases like tetanus, polio and rubella drop by more than 46%, making it the district with the lowest immunization rate in the state for 2024 to 2025.
But what&rsquo;s on paper doesn&rsquo;t tell the whole story.&nbsp;
Guest:
<ul>
<li>
<ul>
<li>Lori Ashley,&nbsp;clinical manager for the Pacific County Department of Health and Human Services.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
Related stories:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li><a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5425792-trump-administration-recommends-7-oh-scheduling/"></a><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/k-12-vaccination-rates-in-wa-dropped-again/?utm_source=marketingcloud&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Morning+Brief+7-24-25_7_24_2025&amp;utm_term=">K-12 vaccination rates in WA dropped again | The Seattle Times</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08/05/us/trump-news">R.F.K. Jr. Cancels mRNA Vaccine Research | The New York Times</a></li>
</ul>
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to&nbsp;<a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes" data-stringify-link="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes" data-sk="tooltip_parent">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes.</a>
Soundside&nbsp;is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Soundside

The Naselle-Grays River Valley School District saw student vaccinations for diseases drop by more than 46%, making it the district with the lowest immunization rate in the state for 2024 to 2025. What’s on paper doesn’t tell the whole story. 

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