Illinois parents are continuing to get their kids vaccinated at high rates despite ongoing controversy nationally about vaccines, according to data released by the state health department Monday.

More than 95% of children statewide had received 10 school-required vaccines as of October, including those against chickenpox, whooping cough, hepatitis B, measles and polio, among others. The only required vaccine that fewer than 95% of Illinois kids received was the meningococcal vaccine, with 94.4% of Illinois children vaccinated.

Though pockets of lower vaccination rates remain in parts of Illinois – including in Chicago for several vaccines – the statewide numbers were an improvement from the previous school year. Across Illinois, rates for all but one of the vaccines rose slightly.

The state’s goal is for 95% of kids to be vaccinated – a level that’s considered high enough to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and to protect those who cannot be vaccinated.

“Our latest school immunization numbers validate our efforts to make vaccines more accessible,” said Governor JB Pritzker, in a statement. “I’m grateful to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the State Board of Education, school administrators, healthcare professionals, and families for their efforts to keep our state’s youngest residents healthy, informed, and immunized.”

Areas of Illinois with lower rates for multiple types of vaccinations include several counties in the northwest corner of the state, as well as in far southern Illinois. 

Chicago also had rates below 95% for certain vaccines. In Chicago, about 92.7% of kids received the vaccine that protects against diptheria, tetanus and whooping cough. About 88.8% had received the meningococcal vaccine; 93.6% had received the polio vaccine; and 92.6% had received a vaccine for older children that also protects against diptheria, tetanus and whooping cough. 

State Superintendent Dr. Tony Sanders said in a news release Monday that the data, “helps communities understand where we are succeeding and where we must continue to focus so every student can learn in a safe, healthy environment.”

The new data, which are released annually, follow a year of confusion and doubt in some quarters over the effectiveness of vaccines.

Last year, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – a longtime vaccine skeptic – fired and replaced all the members of a federal vaccine advisory committee. Federal officials then reduced the number of vaccines recommended for children, no longer broadly recommending flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis and RSV.

In March, a federal judge temporarily blocked the decision to recommend fewer vaccines for children, in response to a lawsuit filed by the Itasca-based American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups.

Amid all the back-and-forth, Illinois charted its own course on vaccines, breaking with the federal government. In February, Illinois adopted a vaccine schedule developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics that differed from the federal recommendations. 

Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill into law last year formally establishing a process for the state to issue its own vaccine guidelines, following concerns about the federal government’s new direction on the issue.

More to come.