LANSING, MI (AP)-- State officials say a change in Michigan's vaccination policy has significantly decreased the rate of schoolchildren receiving immunization waivers.
Preliminary numbers released by the state Thursday show a 41 percent drop in vaccine exemptions statewide since last school year — nearly 8,000 fewer waiver requests.
The rule, which took effect a year ago, requires parents wanting a nonmedical immunization waiver to first be educated by a local health department about the risks of not being vaccinated. Parents previously could file a philosophical or religious waiver without such a meeting.
Michigan had the country's sixth-highest percentage of kindergartners — more than 5 percent — exempted from at least one vaccine last year.
All kindergarteners, seventh-graders and new students must be up to date on certain immunizations or have a waiver.
