COVID-19 Update: It’s more important than ever to make sure your family is protected. Learn More
COVID-19 Update: It’s more important than ever to make sure your family is protected. Learn More
As a parent, you want to make the right choices for your child to best protect them.
But vaccination is not just a personal choice. Your decision affects the health of all children in your community, including your own. The vaccinated community helps to protect those who are not vaccinated, a concept known as “herd immunity” or “community immunity.” When 90–95 percent of a community is protected, it is nearly impossible for a vaccine-preventable disease to spread.
Source: GIF created by Edmund Helmer, Data Scientistbased on research from Epidemiologic Reviewscited by PBS
Think of germs as rain, and hand washing as a raincoat.
Vaccination is an umbrella. If you put on a raincoat, you’re protecting just yourself. But if you use an umbrella, you can protect both yourself and those around you. The umbrella is “community immunity.” Those who don’t vaccinate rely on others to share their umbrella when it rains. But we need our communities to invest in umbrellas together. Newborns rely on their parents and on their caregivers to offer protection by sharing their umbrellas.
There are two critical points for vaccination to create community immunity:
When a person is vaccinated, they prevent disease from spreading to others in the community, including:
For most vaccine-preventable diseases, when less than 90 percent of children are vaccinated in a particular community, these pockets of low vaccination create an environment where diseases can take hold and spread.
Parents may share false information they find online, or talk to a friend who has decided not to vaccinate their child. This misinformation can spread throughout a community and put community immunity in jeopardy. According to Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR) data from June 2019, only 59.1 percent of Michigan toddlers are up to date on all of their recommended vaccinations.
The percent of Michigan children ages 19 through 35 months who are protected against the following diseases are shown below.
| BIRTH DOSE HEPATITIS B: 79.6% |
| COMBINED 7-VACCINE SERIES (4 DTAP, 3 POLIO, 1 MMR, 3 HIB, 3 HEPB, 1 VARICELLA, 4 PCV): 65.8% |
| COMBINED 8-VACCINE SERIES (4 DTAP, 3 POLIO, 1 MMR, 3 HIB, 3 HEPB, 1 VARICELLA, 4 PCV, 2 HEPA): 52.8% |
| 2+ HEP A: 54.8% |
| 4+ DTAP: 68.9% |
| COMPLETE FOR PCV: 74.5% UP-TO-DATE ROTAVIRUS (8-24 MONTHS): 63.7% |
| VACCINATIONS | DISEASES |
|---|---|
| DTaP | Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (Whooping Cough |
| Hep A | Hepatitis A |
| Hepatitis A | Hepatitis B |
| Hib | Haemophilus influenzae type b |
| HPV | Human Papillomavirus |
| IPV | Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine |
| MMR | Measles, Mumps, Rubella |
| PCV | Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine |
| Rota | Rotavirus |
| Var | Varicella (Chickenpox) |
Efforts have been made to improve vaccination coverage and as a result, more people are getting vaccinated. To continue to protect as many people as possible, more can still be done to achieve community immunity across our state.
Only 59.1 percent of Michigan toddlers aged 19 through 35 months are up to date on their vaccinations, according to data from MCIR from June 2019.
In Michigan, 69.9 percent of 5-month-old children were up to date for the recommended vaccines, but this number drops to 57.7 percent for 7-month-old children, according to MCIR data from August 2019
During the 2017-18 school year, Michigan had the 8th highest non-medical exemption rate for kindergartners of the 45 states reporting in the nation, with 4.0% percent of parents simply choosing not to immunize their children.
In 2018, Michigan had 28 counties with a vaccine waiver rate of 5 percent or more among kindergartners.
Only 40.5 percent of Michigan teens aged 13 to 17 years are up to date on their vaccinations, according to data from MCIR from June 2019.
As a result, vaccination rates for Michigan children ages 19 to 36 months have fallen below 70% in more than half of the state (42 of 83 Michigan counties), according to February 2021 data from the Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR). In six Michigan counties and the City of Detroit, the rate has dropped below 60%. In Michigan, parents with school-age children have the option to sign a vaccination waiver for philosophical or religious reasons.
Parents who want a waiver for their child must attend an information session at their local health department. Areas with more vaccination waivers mean fewer children in the community are vaccinated and the community may not be protected by community immunity.
I Vaccinate provides information and tools based on real medical science and research to help Michigan parents protect their kids. Support is provided by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Franny Strong Foundation.
As parents, determining how best to protect our children can be overwhelming and confusing. We’re here to help.
©2021 Franny Strong Foundation | All rights reserved
These schedules list the age or age range when each vaccine or series of shots is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If your child (birth through 6 years old) or adolescent (age 7 through 18 years old) has missed any shots, talk to your child’s doctor about getting back on track.
Vaccine Schedule Based On Your Child’s Birthday
Make sure your child is immunized on schedule. For a complete list of recommended immunizations, just select your child’s birth date.
From the CDC
Immunization Tracker
This print-friendly chart helps you track your child’s vaccinations at each appointment.
From the CDC
The Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR), is an immunization registry managed by MDHHS and reported to by immunization providers. MCIR allows healthcare providers or individuals to access their immunization records regardless of their location in Michigan. This system also helps to track local and state immunization rates of Michigan residents to ensure immunity to vaccine-preventable illnesses. MCIR is a lifespan registry that includes infant through adult records.
Before, during, and after pregnancy protection
When you’re pregnant, you share everything with your baby. That means when you get vaccines, you aren’t just protecting yourself — you are giving your baby some early protection, too. The CDC has guidelines for the vaccines you and your baby need before, during, and after pregnancy.
From the CDC
Get prepared: Before, during, and after your child’s appointment
There are things you can do before, during and after your child’s appointment to make them easier and less stressful for both of you.
From the CDC
Mobile app from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
The Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia created a free mobile app called Vaccines on the Go: What You Should Know so you can access credible, science-based information from wherever and whenever you need it.
Find your local Michigan public health department or immunization clinic
See the directory of Michigan’s 45 local public health departments for more information on your child’s immunization record and where to get them vaccinated.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
The Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia provides complete, up-to-date and reliable information about vaccines to parents and healthcare professionals.
Shot by Shot
Stories of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases is a collection of stories from people who have been touched by vaccine-preventable diseases.
Voices for Vaccines
Voices for Vaccines is a parent-led organization that supports and advocates for on-time vaccination and the reduction of vaccine-preventable disease.
Seattle Mama Doc: A Blog by Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson
Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson is a practicing pediatrician and the mother of two young boys. She practices at The Everett Clinic in Mill Creek, Washington, is on the medical staff at Seattle Children’s and is a clinical instructor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington.
Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases
PKIDs’ mission is to educate the public about infectious diseases, the methods of prevention and transmission, the latest advances in medicine, and the elimination of social stigma borne by the infected; and to assist the families of the children living with hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, or other chronic, viral infectious diseases with emotional, financial and informational support.
