GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Many parents in the state are choosing not to vaccinate their children. In fact, Michigan ranks fourth in the nation for the number of children who are not vaccinated.
“The reason for that is probably that Michigan is one of the few states that has what’s called a philosophical exemption,” said pediatrician Dr. Dan McGee. “This means you could exempt your child for reasons other than medical reasons or religious reasons.”
There’s no credible evidence linking vaccinations to any other diseases, says Dr. McGee.
Grand Rapids resident Amber Crow said she has given her 2-year-old daughter vaccines, but doesn’t plan on giving her any more.
“Just the word alone: a vaccine,” said Crow. “You are putting the virus into their body. I understand that it’s supposedly supposed to help, but that’s what society wants us to believe, and I don’t agree with it.”
Dr. McGee says unvaccinated children can still make vaccinated children sick.
“Unfortunately, vaccines are not 100 percent effective, so even if your child got the vaccine, they may be one of those five percent that didn’t mount an immune response.”
Most commonly, Dr. McGee said, he sees cases of whopping cough that could have been prevented if the child had been vaccinated.