LANSING — The state’s childhood vaccination rate is at its lowest level since 2011 and remains slightly below the national rate.
Medical experts say the main reasons include misinformation and insufficient financial resources from public health agencies, which increases the risk of disease spread.
According to the latest data from the Department of Health and Human Services, only 66.5% of children 19 to 36 months have completed the recommended doses of the primary childhood vaccine series.
“I think because we’ve been so successful in public health, people don’t understand how devastating these diseases are,” said Natasha Bagdasarian, the state’s chief medical executive.
The five counties with the lowest vaccination rates for children ages 19 to 36 months are Oscoda (36.5%), Keweenaw (50%), Clare (52.9%), Houghton (53.9%) and Lake, according to state data (55.1%). The city of Detroit also has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state, at 51.2%.
The five counties with the highest vaccination rates are Ontonagon (81.6%), Midland (77.5%), Kent (77%), Bayside (76.9%) and Leelanau (76.8%).
Data from the Department of Health and Human Services show routine childhood immunization rates by school building for more than 2,000 public and private schools.
“Some of these school buildings have very low vaccination rates,” Baghdasarian said. “We have schools where the vaccination rate is 0%, 10%, and we have schools where the vaccination rate is 95%.”
Children in the state must receive multiple vaccinations at different ages before they can attend school. Required vaccinations are:
• Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTP or DTaP)
• Polio
• Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)
• Hepatitis B
• Meningococcal conjugates
• Chickenpox (chickenpox)
Parents can exempt their children from vaccinations by obtaining a medical or non-medical immunity exemption.
According to the department, a non-medical exemption is a written statement by a parent or guardian describing their religious or philosophical objections to a specific vaccine.
Additionally, any parent or guardian seeking a non-medical immunity exemption must obtain information from the county health department about the benefits of vaccination and the risks of disease.
Joseph Fakhouri, vice president of the Michigan chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said there are multiple reasons for the decline in vaccination rates.
“Misinformation related to any kind of vaccine is increasing,” said Fakhoury, a faculty member at Western Michigan University’s Homer Stryker School of Medicine. “The other big piece of the puzzle is that we’ve really had a reduction in office visits during the pandemic.”
Fakhoury added that the county health department has been active in partnering with clinics in the past as part of the Vaccines for Children program, which aims to provide better vaccines and pediatrician services to children.
“These clinics were closed during the pandemic to redeploy staff and personnel to focus on the pandemic,” Fakhouri said.
Fakhoury said as vaccination rates decline, the state is at increased risk for outbreaks of deadly diseases that can be prevented with proper immunization, similar to the recent outbreak in Ohio.
That outbreak resulted in 85 children being infected and 36 hospitalized. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that 94% of these children have not received the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, when less than 90 percent of children in a community are vaccinated, it creates an environment where disease can breed and spread.
Nationally, 93% of children entering kindergarten in the 2022-23 school year have received the recommended dose of vaccine, according to the CDC.
The state’s rate is slightly lower, with 90.9% of kindergarteners completing vaccination requirements in 2022.
According to state data, 160 school buildings have 100% vaccination coverage for kindergarten children. These include Wilcox Elementary School in Ingham County, Herrig Elementary School in Saginaw County, Bemis Elementary School in Oakland County and Alcona Elementary School in Alcona County.
Fakhouri said health care practitioners encourage families to have open conversations with their doctors.
“We want to work with them on a collaborative approach to care for their children on everything, not just vaccines,” Fakhoury said.
Raising awareness, involving school clinics and nurses in discussions and reopening public health agency vaccine clinics are possible ways to increase vaccination rates, Fakhouri and Baghdassarian said.
“This is not about politics – this is about science and health,” Baghdasarian said.