Michigan health experts urge vaccines amid measles rise

MICHIGAN, USA —

Medical professionals from around Michigan are ringing alarm bells after cases of measles and other highly infectious diseases are on the rise and vaccination numbers are down. 

This comes after Michigan marks its ninth measles case of the year in a one-year-old boy who was in contact with an infected one-year-old girl. 

“These diseases are dangerous, especially for infants who are too young to be fully vaccinated,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Chief Medical Executive for Michigan. “And this is a really good time for every parent to make sure their child is protected before summer travel and gatherings.” 

The CDC has a recommended vaccination schedule that protects against 16 diseases by the age of 18, which is backed by every major medical organization in the country, she said. 

Bagdasarian and other medical experts, along with mother Veronica McNally, who lost her unvaccinated daughter to whooping cough, held an event Thursday in response to Michigan’s dropping vaccination rates. 

“Vaccine-preventable diseases are a threat, make no mistake about that, and they are something that we can protect our children against through vaccination,” McNally said. 

The state health department says around 20% of children who get measles will need to be hospitalized.  

The overall vaccination rate in Michigan is down five percent in five years, and the number of children getting the measles vaccine is also down from 85% in 2020 to 79% in 2025. 

Nationwide, 96% of measles cases are in individuals who are unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status, Bagdasarian said. 

“It means that, number one, the vaccine works, and number two, it means that there are folks who are diligently, again, taking those histories every time there’s a case and making sure they’re asking about things like vaccine status, health history, and doing that full spectrum of contact tracing.” 

The Kent County Health Department said getting both doses of the measles vaccine significantly lowers the chances of contracting measles. 

Unvaccinated, your chance of getting the virus is upwards of 90%. With one dose, that percentage drops to 7%. With two doses, it’s 3-5%. 

In a vaccinated person who contracts measles, symptoms could be mild. 

But in anyone, measles could lead to lifelong health problems. 

Bagdasarian said measles can lead to secondary infections like pneumonia, or consequences like two out of 1000 people developing encephalitis or hearing loss. 

Measles is also highly contagious. An infected individual can leave measles in the air for up to two hours after they leave an area. 

“If a case of measles, is exposed to a group of folks that is are completely unvaccinated, on average, that one case will lead to about 12 to 18 additional cases,” said Ryan Milosh, Director of the Division of Immunization at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. “And with flu, that number is about one and a half to two additional cases.” 

It takes around 95% of a community to be vaccinated to create herd immunity, but Milosh said a lot of communities in Michigan are below that threshold. 

Experts on the panel said it’s important to teach parents about vaccines when their children are very young, to help prevent falling behind on a vaccine schedule. 

McNally said parents who are hesitant about vaccines usually just have questions. 

“To a hesitant parent, I say, ‘What are your specific questions? Identify those. Ask yourself that, don’t talk about it in generalities, just that you have hesitancy across the board. There are some specific questions you have, and you need to get answers to those questions.’ And I want you then to ask yourself this question: ‘What if your child is exposed or infected? And if that happens, how would you feel?’ Because that is a real threat today, and we need to be thinking about that.” 

Bagdasarian said blending both stories about vaccinations and facts about vaccinations helps increase the response to vaccines.