Vaccine Waivers Harder to Get Under New Rules

The state is making it more difficult for parents to obtain immunization waivers for childhood diseases such as measles. (CDC photo)

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Only three states have higher rates of vaccination waivers than Michigan, according to a new report from U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention that has state health officials worried about the spread of childhood illnesses that were at one time all but wiped out.

Waivers exempting students from one or more mandatory vaccinations before they can start school were received for 5.9 percent of kindergartners enrolling in Michigan schools last fall. That compares with 7.1 percent of Oregon kindergartners, 6.4 percent of Idaho kindergartners and 6.2 percent of Vermont kindergartners.

“It’s a big concern – this number of objections,” Bob Swanson, director of the state’s immunization program at the Michigan Department of Community Health, told the Detroit Free Press.

The state is fighting the push-back against immunizations,which are required of students in kindergarten through sixth grade, Waivers will still be an option for parents under new rules adopted by the state’s bipartisan Joint Commission on Administrative Rules, but they’ll be harder to get, The Detroit News reports.

The new rules take effect Jan. 1.

Parents seeking waivers will be required to talk with a local health worker about their decision and sign a universal state form that acknowledges their children and others may be put at risk by their decision, MLive reports

The CDC report comes on the heels of confirmation of at least two vaccine-preventable diseases – measles and pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough – in two northern Michigan counties.

Five cases of measles have been reported Leelanau and Grand Traverse counties, Earlier this fall, the Grand Traverse Academy announced it was temporarily closing school to halt the spread of whooping cough after dozens of students fell ill.

None of the five people – three adults and two children – who contracted measles had been vaccinated. It appears the two adults in Grand Traverse County contracted measles while traveling in the Philippines, where the World Health Organization said their were nearly 54,000 suspected cases of the illness.

The three individuals in Leelanau County reportedly had contact with the pair from Grand Traverse County.

Nationally, there were 610 cases of measles in 24 states at the end of November. Most of those individuals had not been immunized.

Alan Hinman a scientist who sits on the scientific advisory board of Voices for Vaccines, told USA Today earlier this year that the choice not to vaccinate children is a dangerous one. Scientists have debunked the notion that the use of vaccines contributes to Autism Spectrum Disorder, but some parents continue to push back.

Groups such as Michigan Opposing Mandatory Vaccines support parental choice on immunizations. The group says on its website that its members are not anti-vaccine, but rather think that’s a choice best left to parents

Related:

• Rampant Spread of Whooping Cough Prompts School Closure

Both measles and pertussis are highly contagious.

A virus spread through the air by coughing and sneezing, measles starts with a fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes and sore throat, and is followed by a rash that spreads all over the body.

Joel Blostein, a state epidemiologist, said the virus can remain suspended in the air for up to two hours after a cough or sneeze and “will find the chinks in our armor.”

About 3 of 10 people who contact measles will have more serious complications, including pneumonia, ear infections or diarrhea, according to the CDC. Adults are more likely to develop complications than children.

Whooping cough, caused by bacteria, spreads quickly if not contained. According to information from the Mayo Clinic, when an infected person coughs or sneezes, tiny germ-laden droplets are sprayed into the air and breathed into the lungs of anyone who happens to be nearby. It’s known for the uncontrollable, violent coughing that causes breathing difficulty. It most commonly affects infants and young children, and can be fatal, especially among babies less than 1 year.

Tell Us:

• Do you think immunizations should be required, or is that a choice better left to parents?