Measles outbreaks in North Dakota rise due to increased vaccine exemptions, leading to school and event exclusions for unvaccinated children.

Measles is resurging in North Dakota due to a sharp rise in vaccine exemptions, particularly for religious or personal beliefs, causing kindergarten vaccination rates for measles, mumps, and rubella to drop from 94.24% in 2017-2018 to 89.98% by 2024-2025. Exemptions have more than doubled, triggering recurring outbreaks and prompting health officials to exclude unvaccinated children from school and events like wrestling tournaments after exposures. A parent challenged a directive to remove their child from a tournament, citing a religious exemption, but public health experts stress that measles remains dangerous, capable of causing severe complications and death, and that exclusion during outbreaks is a direct result of opting out of vaccination despite warnings on exemption forms.