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With childhood vaccination rates in Michigan on a downward trajectory, state public health officials are stepping up to urge parents to get their children caught up on vaccinations prior to returning to classes this fall.
“Parents should know their child’s risk going into the new school year. We’re seeing some of the lowest vaccination rates in more than a decade, which puts our schools and communities at risk,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for the state of Michigan.
According to July data from the Michigan Care Improvement Registry, vaccination rates for Michigan children ages 19 to 36 months have fallen below 70% in more than half of the state (47 of 83 counties), setting up the potential for outbreaks of serious communicable diseases including measles, mumps and chickenpox.
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The 10 areas of the state with the lowest vaccination rates for children ages 19 to 36 months are: Keweenaw County (36.8%), Oscoda County (38.2%), Mackinac County (54.2%), Houghton County (55.4%), Gladwin County (55.6%), the City of Detroit (55.7%), Lake County (57.8%), Clare County (58.8%), Sanilac County (58.9%) and Baraga County (59.1%). The city of Detroit has its own health department located within Wayne County.
When less than 70% of children are vaccinated in a particular community, health officials say pockets of low vaccination create an environment where diseases can take hold and spread.
In February, Michigan reported its first case of measles in five years , when an Oakland County child who had traveled internationally tested positive for the virus. Since then, Michigan has reported another six cases of measles in 2024, with annual reported cases of whooping cough double what they were for all of 2023.
Meanwhile, vaccination rates of younger children dropped during the pandemic with the most recent data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) indicating only 70.2% of children aged 19 to 36 months have completed their recommended doses in the primary childhood vaccine series.
That is especially alarming for public health officials, who say they are most concerned when children who have not yet received all school-required vaccines are clustered together in the same school building. The number of Michigan elementary schools with kindergarten vaccination rates below 70% increased from 2015 to 2023 (from 86 to 109 schools). During those same years, the number of Michigan middle schools with 7 th grade vaccination rates below 70% more than doubled (from 48 to 110 schools).
“This means that kids attending school this year are more susceptible to vaccine-preventable diseases. This not only could have severe health impacts for under-vaccinated children, or those with medical vulnerabilities, but also means schools, children and parents are more likely to experience disruption of routine instruction this school year,” said Bagdasarian.
Michigan tracks each school’s vaccination data , which can be accessed by parents and others seeking to assess their child’s risk.
“We can send our kids to school safely this year by getting them caught up on the CDC-recommended vaccination schedule before the first day, so we can minimize the spread of preventable diseases,” said Veronica McNally, president of the Franny Strong Foundation and founder of the I Vaccinate campaign. “As a mother myself, I’m asking parents to take this opportunity before school begins to protect their children, as well as their classmates, through vaccination.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends the COVID-19 vaccine and an annual flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older as part of the recommended vaccination childhood and adolescent schedules.
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