Metro Detroit an anti-vaccination hotspot, study finds

By Lee DeVito on Mon, Jun 18, 2018 at 12:14 pm

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Metro Detroit an anti-vaccination hotspot, study finds (2)

Courtesy illustration

Michigan's Wayne, Macomb, and Oakland counties are included in a list of counties with the most unvaccinated kindergarteners, according to a new study published by PLOS Medicine that looked at states that permit non-medical exemptions for vaccinations.

The anti-vaccination or "anti-vax" movement has gained traction in recent years, fueled by a fear that vaccinations could have adverse affects. Some states allow kindergartners to enroll without getting the required vaccinations on non-medical, or philosophical or religious grounds, including Michigan.

For the study, researchers looked at counties with more than 400 kindergarteners with non-medical exemptions in 2016 and 2017. Three of those 15 are in metro Detroit: Oakland County placed 5th with 686 NME exemptions, while Macomb County placed 10th at 477 exemptions and Wayne County placed 11th at 466 exemptions.

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Metro Detroit an anti-vaccination hotspot, study finds (3)

Vaccine-preventable diseases spread more easily in areas with a high percentage of unvaccinated people. You can read the full study here.

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About The Author

Lee DeVito

Leyland "Lee" DeVito grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, where he read Metro Times religiously due to teenaged-induced boredom. He became a contributing writer for Metro Times in 2009, and Editor in Chief in 2016. In addition to writing, he also supplies occasional illustrations. His writing has been published...

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