Seven people are confirmed to have contracted measles in Washtenaw County with exposure sites in Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, and Canton. None of those people were vaccinated against the disease. 

Vaccination rates have declined since 2024, despite decades of medical practice and data that show the MMR vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella, is safe and highly effective. 

Last year, an advisory panel appointed by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recommended the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) adopt new restrictions on the MMRV vaccine, which provides protection against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox. The panel advised that children under 4 should get protection against those diseases in separate vaccines.

In the time since Kennedy Jr. was appointed to head HHS by President Trump, vaccination rates have declined for toddlers, school-age kids and adults, making Southeast Michigan more vulnerable to outbreaks.

When the population’s vaccine rate dips below the level of ‘herd immunity’, the chance of a measles outbreak increases substantially.

What’s stopping people from vaccinating themselves or their kids, and who is most at risk when an outbreak happens?

Dr. Rupali Limaye is an Associate Professor at the George Mason College of Public Health. She is an expert in vaccine behavior, hesitancy and acceptance. She spoke with Cary Junior II on The Metro.

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