Vaccine exemptions up in Mich.

Vaccination exemption rates among Michigan kindergartners increased 2 percentage points in five years, a jump largely caused by the addition of a second round of the chickenpox vaccine last school year, according to the state.

Michigan is one of 20 states that allows vaccination exemptions for philosophical reasons, and parents understandably want to research requirements — such as a second dose for varicella, more commonly called chickenpox — before agreeing to them, said Angela Minicuci, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Community Health.

“As new vaccination requirements become available, people want to be more educated,” said Ms. Minicuci, adding some parents get waivers if they plan to get their children’s shots later or want to opt out of one vaccine.

Last week, an Associated Press analysis found that Michigan was one of 10 states with vaccination exemption rate increases of at least 1.5 percent over five years, from the 2006-07 school year to the 2010-11 school year. The hike is causing a fear among health officials of outbreaks.

Michigan’s rate of 5.7 percent for the 2010-211 school year was dwarfed by the nation’s highest vaccination exemption rate, nearly 9 percent in Alaska, but ranked in the top half dozen in the country, according to the analysis. The lowest rate was essentially 0.0 percent in Mississippi, it said.

Bedford Public Schools, however, has had a 2 percent vaccination exemption rate for kindergarten students for years. At Monroe Public Schools, the rate for years has been less than 5 percent, said Julie Everly, assistant superintendent for elementary education.

The Monroe County Health Department does hearing and vision screenings during kindergarten orientation in the spring, and it hands out schedules for upcoming free vaccination clinics to parents, Ms. Everly said. That helps parents who otherwise couldn’t afford vaccinations and keeps 90 percent of all the district’s students up-to-date on their shots, she said.

“We have a great partnership with our health department,” Ms. Everly said. “I shudder to think where it would be without their partnership.”

Monroe school officials attempt to talk to parents who exempt their children from vaccinations, and typically the decision is multigenerational and based on deep-seated beliefs, Ms. Everly said. Occasionally, a child is exempted for medical reasons, but religious or philosophical beliefs usually are the cause, she said.

Concerns about the need for vaccinations, especially for mostly forgotten diseases such as polio, and their safety are among reasons parents nationwide may not have their children vaccinated.

The shots, however, help provide “herd immunity” to those too young or sickly to get the shots, as well as those who are not 100 percent immunized by doses, health officials say.

“People tend to think of diseases like measles and mumps as being diseases of the past, but they’re still around,” said Tina Bickert, health planning administrator for the Ohio Department of Health.

Ohio had a relatively low vaccination exemption rate of 1.8 percent in the 2010-11 school year, a slight increase after a second dose of the varicella vaccine was added for kindergartners last year.

Like Michigan, Ohio allows vaccination exemptions for philosophical reasons, as well as for medical and religious reasons.

Ann Cipriani, health services coordinator at Toledo Public Schools, says less than 1 percent of kindergartners in the district are exempted from vaccinations.

TPS works with the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department, which offers additional vaccination clinics to help ensure students are immunized, she said.

“We have some of the highest [vaccination] compliance rates in the state because of working with the health department,” Ms. Cipriani said. “We do everything we can.”

Sylvania Schools, which contracts with the health department for school nurses, also has a low vaccination exemption rate. Just seven of 530 kindergartners had vaccination exemptions this year, or 0.013 percent, which is down from 0.05 percent last year, according to the district.

At Perrysburg Schools, five of 307 kindergartners had vaccination exemptions this year for a rate of 1.6 percent, which has been fairly consistent the last few years, according to the district.

The Ohio Department of Health and local health departments work with health-care providers to increase vaccination rates through a couple of programs, said Ms. Bickert, the health planning administrator. One deals with quality assurance to improve vaccination delivery, while the other focuses on education, she said.

The Michigan Department of Community Health also wants children to get their shots, said Ms. Minicuci, the spokesman.

“We definitely always want to encourage parents to get their children vaccinated,” she said. “The more people are vaccinated in a group, the less likely a disease is able to spread.”

Contact Julie M. McKinnon at: jmckinnon@theblade.com or 419-724-6087.