Bill Would Require Warning From Schools with Low Vaccine Rates

A new bill would require Michigan schools to post a notice at their doors if they have a large number of unvaccinated students.

Democrat State Rep. Brian Elder from Bay City introduced the House Bill earlier this month, which states that if the leadership of a school district or public school academy determines that more than 5 percent of enrolled students have not been vaccinated for things like influenza, tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis, and HPV, the school will be required to post a large sign at each entrance to the school that states as such; they would also need to put that info on their website.

Michigan currently allows for parents to seek a waiver for vaccinating their students for non-medical reasons.

MLive says that around 1,000 schools around the state have vaccine waiver rates over 5 percent, with some 400 having 10 percent or more of their students unvaccinated. Representative Elder says that people like senior citizens or those with compromised immune systems can be particularly susceptible to infection, and they deserve to know that risk is there when they are entering a school.

The bill is currently before the House Committee on Health Policy.