Detroit Today: Macomb County wants to increase vaccination rates
Community engagement, access to care, and education are key according to Macomb County Public Health Director Andrew Cox.
Across the United States, vaccination rates for kindergarteners are slightly down year over year.
Michigan is no exception. Last year, one third of kindergartners in the state attended school in buildings below the generally accepted threshold to avoid the spread of infectious diseases.
Macomb County Health Director Andrew Cox joined Detroit Today to explain why local officials are concerned and what the trend means for the health of our population statewide.
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Guest
Andrew Cox is the public health director for Macomb County. He says one of the reasons officials are concerned about the declining rates of vaccinations in kindergartners is the risk of spread to the general population.
“There are people — for medical reasons due to allergies or other immune responses — that there are compromised. They cannot just go out and get immunized,” Cox says. “So they’re unprotected. We have to think about not just ourselves, but also others out in the community.”
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