More Students Getting Vaccinated

The state has shown an overall improvement in the percentage of students who are not getting fully vaccinated.

The newly released figures from the Department of Community Health come before a new rule change that officials hope will improve that number of vaccinated students even more.

The figures show that of those parents opting their children out of vaccinations, the vast majority are doing so for philosophical as opposed to medical or religious reasons. That percentage declined compared to a year earlier, but was offset partially by more people claiming a religious exemption.

Michigan has one of the highest rates of unvaccinated school children in the nation, ranking fourth overall during the 2013-14 school year.

The figures reported for the 2013-14 fiscal year include the first month of the 2014-15 school year. They look at kindergartners, seventh graders and new students coming into a school who are vaccinated.

A new rule that took effect in January requires parents wanting a waiver to meet with a local public health official before being granted the waiver. Health officials are hopeful it will have more children with complete vaccinations in the coming years.