This article appeared on WCMU Public Radio. Read more here.
Michigan’s child vaccination rates are now the lowest they’ve been in years. That’s thanks to a drop that started during the pandemic, and still hasn’t recovered.
Veronica McNally is president of the Franny Strong Foundation, named for the infant daughter she lost to whooping cough in 20-12. She says the pandemic prevented parents from taking kids to regular doctor appointments.
While speaking on the topic, McNally said, “So it’s the combination, I think, of the disruption of normal activities. And there is a potential, I think, for misinformation contributing to some of these lower rates as well.”
More than half the counties in Michigan now have childhood immunization rates below 70-percent. That raises the risk of something like the recent measles outbreak in Ohio.