Immunization Education Begins This School Year For Waiver Seekers

There’s a new wrinkle for parents who aren’t getting their kids vaccinated and need a waiver from the state to send them to school or daycare.
Beginning this school year, parents will have to go to their county public health department to sign the waiver and talk with someone about vaccines.
Doctor Terry Frankovich, a medical director overseeing 10 counties in the Upper Peninsula, says it’s about education, not changing parents' minds.
She says while they are pro-vaccine, they respect the wishes of parents who don’t want to have their kids vaccinated.
Parents have until the start of school to come in and sign the waiver.
Chris Karpinski, Immunization Nurse Coordinator at the Washtenaw County Public Health Department, says they expect over 1,000 requests for vaccination waivers.
So far they have only fulfilled a few hundred.
She’s encouraging parents to make an appointment sooner rather than later.
This new rule applies to kids entering daycare, kindergarten, and 7th grade or are new to a school district.

-Michigan Radio Network