GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Health officials are asking parents to make sure their children are vaccinated after a measles outbreak in southeast Michigan.
There are now 34 confirmed cases of measles, and health agencies are urging everyone to be cautious before hitting the road for spring break.
“It is in southeast Michigan, but we all know how mobile everyone is,” said Mary Wisinksi, Kent County Health Department immunization supervisor. “Could they be coming here to visit Meijer Gardens for spring break? Could someone from Grand Rapids be going to that part of the country together at whatever attraction is over there for spring break?”
Wisinski says the best protection from measles is getting the MMR vaccine.
Kristen Montroy is a mother and former teacher who chose to get her kids vaccinated after doing some research.
“You gotta weigh your options and be diligent about the information you’re getting and where you’re getting it from and weighing your risks,” she said. “But for me, there is no question.”
Montry homeschools her children, but said she wouldn’t send them to a public school with unvaccinated students.
“If we were to send our kids to a public school and there were even a small minority of kids that aren’t vaccinated, we wouldn’t go to that school.”
Wisinski said Measles is highly contagious, and anyone who isn’t vaccinated and is in the same room as someone with the illness has a 90 percent chance of contracting it.
