LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – Michigan doctors and public health leaders are urging parents to check their children’s immunization records and catch up on any missed vaccines before the 2026-27 school year begins, as the United States logs its worst measles year since 1991.
“With classrooms reopening in just a few weeks, now is the moment for parents to check their child’s immunization records and catch up on any vaccines they’ve missed,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for the state of Michigan. “Every missed or delayed vaccine is a missed opportunity to protect a child and their entire classroom.”
As of July 22, the U.S. had reported 2,321 measles cases nationwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University measles tracker, already surpassing all of 2025’s full-year total of 2,289. It marks the highest annual case count since measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. The CDC’s official count, which lags slightly behind, stood at 2,318 cases as of July 23, with 93% of those cases occurring in people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
Michigan has confirmed 14 measles cases so far this year, according to Ryan Melosh, director of the state’s Division of Immunizations, including two outbreaks in Washtenaw and Ottawa counties that account for 78% of the state’s cases. Melosh said the state saw 30 cases for all of last year, and none from 2019 through 2025 before that. He said local health departments worked around the clock to contain the spring outbreaks and prevent wider spread, but cautioned the year is not over.
Veronica McNally, president of the Franny Strong Foundation and founder of the I Vaccinate campaign, said the decision is personal for her family. She lost her infant daughter, Francesca Marie, to pertussis in 2012.
“As parents, we are responsible for the health of our children,” McNally said. “This is one of the few risks to your child’s health that is completely within your control. It simply takes one phone call.”
Whooping cough, or pertussis, also remains a concern, with 122 cases reported statewide as of May 31, including 33 in infants under 2. One in three infants with pertussis is hospitalized, and complications can include pneumonia, seizures, or brain swelling.
Statewide, MMR vaccine coverage among children 19 to 35 months stands at 75.7%, and DTaP coverage is 67.8%, both below the roughly 95% threshold needed to prevent outbreaks of highly contagious diseases like measles.
Michigan’s statewide school vaccine waiver rate climbed to 6.2% in 2024, the highest since 2013, according to MDHHS. Nearly all of those waivers are nonmedical: 57.4% are philosophical, and 39% are religious, compared with 3.5% medical. Melosh said preliminary data show the waiver rate has continued to climb for the 2025-26 school year, with a full report expected in the coming weeks.
Rachel Vanden Brink, a Michigan school nurse speaking on behalf of the state’s school nurses, said declining vaccination rates put medically fragile students at greater risk, including children with asthma, diabetes or compromised immune systems who rely on high vaccination rates in their schools for protection.
Some Michigan schools open as early as Aug. 17, with Detroit and Grand Rapids among districts starting Aug. 24. Public health officials recommend parents check their child’s immunization record at mcir.org/public, schedule a back-to-school appointment with their doctor or local health department, and ask about catching up on missed doses, including this year’s flu vaccine.
Families can find additional information at IVaccinate.org.
