Central Michigan. (WILX) – Before the pandemic, vaccination rates for children up to age 3 averaged 75% statewide. That number then dropped significantly to 66% during the pandemic.
Although current rates are increasing, experts say there is still work to be done.
“Right now, that infection rate is about 70%,” said Natasha Baghdasarian, the state’s chief medical officer. “We have made some progress, but we are still not where we were before the pandemic.”
Dr. Natasha Baghdasarian said overall, there are counties that are at risk due to low vaccination rates. Keweenaw County has the lowest rate at nearly 37%. She says this can be due to many factors.
“There’s been a lot of misinformation and disinformation about vaccines and things like that, including misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine,” Baghdasarian said. “That spilled over into other vaccines, and people’s confidence in those vaccines declined.”
“For me, it’s about trusting science, trusting the Centers for Disease Control, trusting the medical community, trusting pediatricians,” said Okemos parent Rebecca Mercado Jones. “My pediatrician gives me very specific advice based on my children’s situation.”
Parents say for public health to work, the public needs to be involved.
“We’ll never get to a situation where there are 100 kids in a class, but if at least 90 of them are vaccinated, then those 100 kids have better protection. It means you can get vaccinated and avoid getting vaccinated against germs that are that big and nasty,” said Darla Bishop, a parent from Lansing.
Dr. Baghdasarian added that once children enter kindergarten, that rate rises to 90%. In Ingham County, about 72% of children up to age 3 have been vaccinated. In Jackson County, that number is slightly higher at 75%.
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