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Vaccinations are good for children, communities

Fewer Michigan parents are opting out of vaccinating their children since the state changed its waiver rules, and that’s a good thing.

Nick Lyon, Health and Human Services director, said the state has changed the way the waivers work. Michigan parents now must speak with a public health provider to obtain a nonmedical waiver.

The changes were implemented in 2015. From November 2015 to 2016, waiver rates dropped from 4.6 percent to 2.9 percent.

The Centers for Disease Control firmly believes in vaccinations. It noted the diseases that vaccines prevent can be dangerous, or even deadly, plus they reduce the risk of infection by working with the body’s natural defenses to help it safely develop immunity to disease.

Vaccines help develop immunity by imitating an infection, but this “imitation” infection does not cause illness, the CDC said. It causes the immune system to develop the same response as it does to an actual infection. The body then can recognize and fight the vaccine-preventable disease.

Michigan is one of 20 states that allow vaccination waivers for philosophical reasons, although an increase in preventable children’s disease rates where vaccination rates were lower than in previous years was noted.

Some people aren’t in favor of vaccinations, worrying about drug safety and believing vaccines contain chemicals and heavy metals.

They’re entitled to their opinions, but consider what happened in Grand Traverse County recently. That county was one of those that had waiver rate increases.

In 2014, a whooping cough outbreak occurred there.

The Grand Traverse County Health Department, though, expresses support for vaccinations and works to educate people who want to obtain a waiver.

Keep in mind that even if parents don’t want to vaccinate their children, other kids’ health could be put in jeopardy during a disease outbreak.

People have the right to their religious or philosophical objections to vaccinations. However, we believe, as the CDC does, vaccinations do more good than harm.

Therefore, we are pleased with the downward trend in vaccination waivers, and hope it continues.

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