A new campaign called " I Vaccinate" launched Monday at a press conference in Lansing with the goal of educating and providing parents with the facts to make informed decisions about vaccinations.
" Michigan's childhood immunization rate ranks 43rd in the United States for children ages 19 to 35 months," says Dr. Mike Stiffler, Assistant Professor and Associate Program Director of Pediatrics at Michigan State University. "We have more work to do in order to improve those numbers."
Franny Strong President and co-founder, Veronica McNally says there are devastating consequences that vaccine-preventable diseases have on a child.
"It threatens the state and the country in terms of the health of our children," she said.
But for Lansing native Tori Baker, she is one of many who don't believe in vaccines.
And now that she is going to be a mother, she says parents should have the right to decide whether or not their children should be immunized.
"A mother knows what's best for her children," she said.
Baker is not the only one who feels this way, Connie Johnson, media director and volunteer for the Michigan for Vaccine Choice, says the new campaign fails to educate parents on the side effects of vaccinations.
"On a vaccination information sheet, it lists pretty mild reactions such as swelling or fever," Johnson says. " However, many product inserts that come with medication list at least 30 very catastrophic adverse reactions that can occur."
