8/10/21 - Parents urged to "catch up" on vaccines

Many Michigan children are behind on vaccines for measles, mumps and chickenpox.

LANSING, Mich. - Michigan's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joneigh Khaldun joined school officials on Monday to urge parents to catch their children up on vaccines for diseases like measles, mumps and chickenpox as they get ready to return to school. 

Representatives of the I Vaccinate campaign said vaccination rates among children in 46 of Michigan's 83 counties had fallen below 70% .

Seven counties and Detroit, have dropped below 60%.

They believe the dropping rates were the result of many parents postponing shots amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Dr. Khaldun said,  "As students return to in-person classes and as we're still dealing with rising COVID-19 cases cue to the delta variant, it's crucial that we avoid outbreaks of other serious, preventable diseases."