In an effort to prevent serious communicable diseases from spreading in classrooms, Michigan public health and school leaders are urging parents to get their children caught up on vaccinations prior to returning to in-person classes this fall.
The request came from Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the chief medical executive for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
According to the Department, vaccination rates in children under the age of 16 are dropping—and with school set to begin in the next few weeks, health officials are calling on parents to vaccinate their kids before the fall semester.
The announcement Monday comes in the midst of Michigan’s battle against the COVID-19 Delta variant—as the state’s vaccination rate is still lower than it’s goal of having 70 percent of the population inoculated.
So far, public schools have not mandated the COVID-19 vaccine as a prerequisite to attend class, leaving that decision to parents or guardians. Masks are not required either, but strongly recommended.
With rising numbers of new cases and hospitalizations up 55 percent over the past two weeks, officials say that getting your kids vaccinated now is more important than ever to avoid outbreaks of other serious, preventable diseases like measles, mumps, and chickenpox.